SIEGE OF LONDONDERRY.
The adherents of James in England pressed him to settle the affairs of Ireland immediately, and bring over his army either to the north of England, or the west of Scotland, where it might be joined by his party, and act without delay against the usurper; but his council dissuaded him from complying with their solicitations, until Ireland should be totally reduced to obedience. On the first alarm of an intended massacre, the protestants of Londonderry had shut their gates against the regiment commanded by the earl of Antrim, and resolved to defend themselves against the lord lieutenant. They transmitted this resolution to the government of England, together with an account of the danger they incurred by such a vigorous measure, and implored immediate assistance. They were accordingly supplied with some arms and ammunition, but did not receive any considerable reinforcement till the middle of April, when two regiments arrived in Loughfoyl, under the command of Cunningham and Richards. By this time king James had taken Coleraine, invested Killmore, and was almost in sight of Londonderry. George Walker, rector of Donaghmore, who had raised a regiment for the defence of the protestants, conveyed this intelligence to Lundy the governor. This officer directed him to join colonel Grafton, and take post at the Long-causey, which he maintained a whole night against the advanced guard of the enemy; until being overpowered by numbers, he retreated to Londonderry and exhorted the governor to take the field, as the army of king James was not yet completely formed. Lundy assembling a council of war, at which Cunningham and Richards assisted; they agreed, that as the place was not tenable, it would be imprudent to land the two regiments, and that the principal officers should withdraw themselves from Londonderry, the inhabitants of which would obtain the more favourable capitulation in consequence of their retreat. An officer was immediately dispatched to king James with proposals of a negotiation; and lieutenant-general Hamilton agreed that the army should halt at the distance of four miles from the town. Notwithstanding this preliminary, James advanced at the head of his troops; but met with such a warm reception from the besieged, that he was fain to retire to St. John’s Town in some disorder. The inhabitants and soldiers in garrison at Londonderry were so incensed at the members of the council of war, who had resolved to abandon the place, that they threatened immediate vengeance. Cunningham and Richards retired to their ships, and Lundy locked himself in his chamber. In vain did Walker and major Baker exhort him to maintain his government. Such was his cowardice or treachery, that he absolutely refused to be concerned in the defence of the place, and he was suffered to escape in disguise with a load of match upon his back; but he was afterwards apprehended in Scotland, from whence he was sent to London to answer for his perfidy or misconduct.
COURAGEOUS DEFENCE.
After his retreat, the townsmen chose Mr. Walker and major Baker for their governors, with joint authority; but this office they would not undertake until it had been offered to colonel Cunningham, as the officer next in command to Lundy. He rejected the proposal, and with Richards returned to England, where they were immediately cashiered. The two new governors, thus abandoned to their fate, began to prepare for a vigorous defence; indeed their courage seems to have transcended the bounds of discretion, for the place was very ill fortified; their cannon, which did not exceed twenty pieces, were wretchedly mounted; they had not one engineer to direct their operations; they had a very small number of horse; the garrison consisted of people unacquainted with military discipline; they wore destitute of provisions; they were besieged by a king in person, at the head of a formidable army, directed by good officers, and supplied with all the necessary implements for a siege or battle. This town was invested on the twentieth day of April; the batteries were soon opened, and several attacks were made with great impetuosity; but the besiegers were always repulsed with considerable loss. The townsmen gained divers advantages in repeated sallies, and would have held their enemies in the utmost contempt, had they not been afflicted with a contagious distemper, as well as reduced to extremity by want of provisions. They were even tantalized in their distress; for they had the mortification to see some ships which had arrived with supplies from England, prevented from sailing up the river by the batteries the enemy had raised on both sides, and a boom with which they had blocked up the channel. At length a reinforcement arrived in the Lough, under the command of general Kirke, who had deserted his master and been employed in the service of king William. He found means to convey intelligence to Walker, that he had troops and provisions on board for their relief, but found it impracticable to sail up the river: he promised, however, that he would land a body of forces at the Inch, and endeavour to make a diversion in their favour-, when joined by the troops at Inniskilling, which amounted to five thousand men, including two thousand cavalry. He said he expected six thousand men from England, where they were embarked before he set sail. He exhorted them to persevere in their courage and loyalty, and assured them he would come to their relief at all hazards. These assurances enabled them to bear their miseries a little longer, though their numbers daily diminished. Major Baker dying, his place was filled with colonel Michel-burn, who now acted as colleague to Mr. Walker.
CRUELTY OF ROSENE.
King James having returned to Dublin to be present at the parliament, the command of his army devolved to the French general Rosene, who was exasperated at such an obstinate opposition by a handful of half-starved militia. He threatened to raze the town to its foundations, and destroy the inhabitants without distinction of age or sex, unless they would immediately submit themselves to their lawful sovereign. The governors treated his menaces with contempt, and published an order that no person, on pain of death, should talk of surrendering. They had now consumed the last remains of their provisions, and supported life by eating the flesh of horses, dogs, cats, rats, mice, tallow, starch, and salted hides, and even this loathsome food began to fail. Rosene, finding him deaf to all his proposals, threatened to wreak his vengeance on all the protestants of that country, and drive them under the walls of Londonderry, where they should be suffered to perish by famine. The bishop of Meath being informed of this design, complained to king James of the barbarous intention, entreating his majesty to prevent its being put in execution. That prince assured him that he had already ordered Rosene to desist from such proceeding: nevertheless, the Frenchman executed his threats with the utmost rigour. Parties of dragoons were detached on this cruel service: after having stripped all the protestants for thirty miles round, they drove these unhappy people before them like cattle, without even sparing the enfeebled old men, nurses with infants at their breasts, tender children, women just delivered, and some even in the pangs of labour. Above four thousand of these miserable objects were driven under the walls of Londonderry. This expedient, far from answering the purpose of Rosene, produced quite a contrary effect. The besieged were so exasperated at this act of inhumanity, that they resolved to perish rather than submit to such a barbarian. They erected a gibbet in sight of the enemy, and sent a message to the French general, importing that they would hang all the prisoners they had taken during the siege, unless the protestants whom they had driven under the walls should be immediately dismissed. This threat produced a negotiation, in consequence of which the protestants were released after they had been detained three days without tasting food. Some hundreds died of famine or fatigue; and those who lived to return to their own habitations, found them plundered and sacked by the papists, so that the greater number perished for want, or were murdered by the straggling parties of the enemy; yet these very people had for the most part obtained protections from king James, to which no respect was paid by his general.