His coming among them, as well as the news of the arrival of the Spaniards, put fresh life into the Irish of West Munster, and, indeed, Red Hugh stood on scant ceremony with such degenerate Irish as refused to fight for their country, so that wherever he marched, fresh patriots, eager to “save their bacon,” in many cases, sprang up like crops of mushrooms. At Castlehaven he formed a junction with 700 newly arrived Spanish troops, and, together, they marched toward Kinsale, which Mountjoy and Carew were preparing to invest. O’Neill and his brave lieutenant, Richard Tyrrell, did not pursue the route taken by O’Donnell, but had to fight their way through Leinster and North Munster with considerable loss. At Bandon, in South Munster, they fell in with O’Donnell and the Spaniards, and all marched to form an immediate junction with De Aguila. Mitchel, quoting from O’Sullivan’s narrative, gives the total strength of the force under O’Neill and O’Donnell at 6,000 foot and 500 horse. The Irish leader was opposed to risking a general engagement with so small a command, although O’Donnell, when he beheld Mountjoy’s troops beleaguering the town, wanted to attack, which, judging by after events, might have been the better plan. O’Neill argued, however, that the inclement season would soon destroy a good part of the English soldiers and counseled delay. O’Donnell yielded reluctantly, and then the Irish, very badly provided, intrenched themselves and began “besieging the besiegers.” Prudence, on this occasion, ruined the cause of Ireland—so often ruined by rashness, before and since; for, three days after O’Neill’s policy had been acceded to, that is on Christmas eve, 1601, accident brought on an engagement, in the dark, which neither party seems to have anticipated. The tragedy is best related by Mitchel in his life of O’Neill, thus: “Before dawn, on the morning of the 24th (December), Sir Richard Graham, who commanded the night guard of horse, sent word to the deputy that the scouts had discovered the matches (matchlock muskets were used at this period) flashing in great numbers in the darkness, and that O’Neill must be approaching the camp in force. Instantly the troops were called to arms; messengers were despatched to the Earl of Thomond’s quarter, with orders to draw out his men. The deputy (Mountjoy) now advanced to meet the Irish, whom he supposed to be stealing on his camp, and seems to have effectually surprised them, while endeavoring to prevent a surprise upon himself. The infantry of O’Neill’s army retired slowly about a mile further from the town, and made a stand on the bank of a ford, where their position was strengthened by a bog in flank. Wingfield, the marshal, thought he saw some confusion in their ranks, and entreated the deputy that he might be allowed to charge. The Earl of Clanricarde joined the marshal and the battle became general. O’Neill’s cavalry repeatedly drove back both Wingfield and Clanricarde, until Sir Henry