Despite the magnitude of this conflict, outside of Ireland it is surprisingly hard to get information on this conflict: the English Civil War, a considerably smaller contemporary conflict has been written about in far greater detail. The general lack of interest in this major Irish war is obviously unjustified, and I am attempting to generate a clearer picture of the conflict than can be found in the small amount of available material on the war.
Battles of the Eleven Years War
Below is an attempt to list the major battles of the Eleven Years War. There were three phases of the war- the initial Uprising (lasting approximately 12 months, from October 1641 until the foundation of the Confederation of Kilkenny in October 1642); the Irish Confederate Wars of the 1640's, and finally the Cromwellian Wars (or Cromwellian Invasion) which dates from early 1649 when the Irish Confederates entered into an alliance with the Royalist supporters of Charles I. This was a major threat to the Parliamentarian regime in England, and thus in August 1649 a major invasion into Ireland was orchestrated by Cromwell.
Defining which conflicts can be called 'battles' is not clear cut; there is a very Encyclopedia Britannica definition which describes a battle as an engagement in which over 1,000 soldiers are killed, but this description is obviously too neat (by this definition the engagement at Valmy in 1792- one of the more important conflicts of the French Revolutionary wars- would not be classed as a battle, despite involving tens of thousands of soldiers). In my view the number of soldiers engaged in the overall fight is of more importance: therefore the list below comprises battles in which around 1,000 soldiers altogether were engaged.
The dates below conform to the Julian Calender: as was the case in Britain the Greogorian calender was not widely used in Ireland until the 18th century.
Defining which conflicts can be called 'battles' is not clear cut; there is a very Encyclopedia Britannica definition which describes a battle as an engagement in which over 1,000 soldiers are killed, but this description is obviously too neat (by this definition the engagement at Valmy in 1792- one of the more important conflicts of the French Revolutionary wars- would not be classed as a battle, despite involving tens of thousands of soldiers). In my view the number of soldiers engaged in the overall fight is of more importance: therefore the list below comprises battles in which around 1,000 soldiers altogether were engaged.
The dates below conform to the Julian Calender: as was the case in Britain the Greogorian calender was not widely used in Ireland until the 18th century.
The Irish Uprising: October 1641- October 1642
November 1641- Battle of Lisburn
November 1641- Battle of Julianstown
December 1641-March 1642- First Siege of Drogheda
January 1642- Battle of Swords
March 1642- Siege of Carrickmines
March(?) 1642- Siege of Cork
April 1642- Battle of Kilrush
May 1642- First Siege of Limerick
July 1642- Battle of Liscarrol
August 1642- First Siege of Galway
The Confederate Wars: October 1642- January 1649
November 1642- Battle of Bandonbridge
February 1643- Battle of Rathconnell
March 1643- Siege of Timolin
March 1643- Siege of New Ross
March 1643- Battle of Ross/Ballibeg
May 1643- Battle of Clones
June 1643- Battle of Funcheon Ford
September 1643- Battle of Portlester
May(?) 1644- Battle of Finae Bridge
Janurary-March 1645- Siege of Duncannon
June 1646- Battle of Benburb
August 1647- Battle of Dungans Hill
September 1647- Siege of Cashel
November 1647- Battle of Knocknanauss
July 1649- Raid of Castletown
The Cromwellian Wars: 1649-1653
March- August 1649- Siege of Derry
August 1649- Battle of Rathmines
September 1649- Second Siege of Drogheda
October 1649- Siege and Sack of Wexford
November 1649- Siege of Waterford
November 1649- Battle of Arklow
December 1649- Battle of Lisnagarvey
March 1650- Siege of Kilkenny
April - May 1650- Siege of Clomnel
May 1650- Battle of Macroom
June 1650- Battle of Ticroghan
June 1650- Battle of Scarrfholis
July 1650- Siege of Charlemont
August 1650-Siege of Athlone
October 1650- Battle of Meelick Island
October 1650- October 1651- Second Siege of Limerick
January 1651- Raid on Balenoy
March 1651- Siege of Finea
June 1651- Siege of Gourtenshegore
July 1651- Battle of Knocknaclashy
August 1651- May 1652- Second Siege of Galway
February 1652- Raid of FitzPatrick Fort
No comments:
Post a Comment