A History of England, Period III. Constitutional MonarchyBright, J. Franck (James Franck)
History
A History of England, Period III. Constitutional Monarchy
Bright, J. Franck (James Franck)
Great Britain -- History
the Queen at once £100,000, 10,000 Londoners, well armed for immediate
purposes, and six regiments of foot and two regiments of horse, to be
raised at once, without cost to the Crown. The same temper was visible
throughout England, and suddenly, after three days of depression, hope
was again raised in the national mind by the news of the battle of the
Boyne.
[Sidenote: Battle of the Boyne. July 1, 1690.]
James had determined to make a stand behind that river, which separates
the counties of Louth and Meath, falling into the sea at Drogheda. The
position was a fairly strong one; the ground rose immediately from the
river, and some of William's generals scarcely liked to venture upon an
attack. But he felt that some great blow was necessary to retrieve the
disasters of the last year, and he gave orders for crossing the river at
once. Early in the morning of the 1st of July the English began to
advance. Young Schomberg was sent some miles up the river, to cross at
the bridge of Slane, and thus turn the left flank of the Irish army. His
success in this movement alarmed Lauzun. There was a narrow passage at
Duleek, four miles south of the Boyne, where two carriages could
scarcely pass between impassable bogs. If Schomberg could secure this
pass the Irish would be enclosed in a trap. It was necessary at any
price to avoid this danger; Lauzun therefore marched to oppose him,
taking with him all the French troops, leaving the Irish alone to hold
the river. William commanded the left wing, formed entirely of horse. He
fought his way across the river not far above Drogheda. In the centre
Schomberg led the main body of the infantry across the fords of Old
Bridge. The Irish infantry which should have opposed him, thoroughly
demoralized by a year spent under lax discipline and in habits of
plunder, fled at the first onset. The cavalry, who had been more
carefully drilled under command of the traitor Richard Hamilton, strove
in vain to restore the day. For half an hour the struggle in the bed of
the river was fierce. The leader of the Protestant refugees was killed,
and Schomberg himself, while rallying these troops, and calling out to
them, "Come on, gentlemen, there are your persecutors," also fell. But
William, having crossed with the left wing, now came up on the flank of
the Irish, and the passage was secured. The Irish cavalry were left
entirely unsupported by the infantry. Fighting bravely, and with
considerable loss, they were slowly driven from the ground. Their leader
Richard Hamilton was taken prisoner. James, whose personal courage it
had been usual to praise, turned early from the fight and fled towards
Dublin. The rout of fugitives hurried through the pass of Duleek,
covered by the French infantry, who had been resisting young Schomberg's
flank attack all the day. William is said to have been slack in the
pursuit; Schomberg's death, and his own exhaustion, after having been
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