Waterford was unassailable from the left bank of the Suir, and Cromwell, like Mountjoy before him, had to cross at Carrick. Before the naval superiority of the Parliament could be made available it was necessary to secure the forts at Duncannon and Passage below the city. Duncannon had been in the hands of the Confederates since 1645, and was commanded by Captain Thomas Roche, a very incompetent officer. Jones was detached from Ross with 2000 men to besiege the place, and he took Ballyhack, commanding the ordinary communication between the Fort and Waterford. Parliamentary ships lay near, and seeing that Duncannon was in danger Ormonde sent Captain Edward Wogan to supersede Roche. As a deserter from the Parliamentary army Wogan fought with a rope round his neck, and he restored the courage of the garrison. Ormonde then sent Castlehaven to Passage opposite Ballyhack, whence he managed to get to Duncannon in a boat. After consultation with Wogan, Castlehaven returned, and that night embarked eighty horses without riders in boats, which slipped into Duncannon on the tide. Wogan mounted officers and picked men on the horses thus provided, and immediately attacked the Parliamentary camp. The appearance of cavalry where there had been none before seemed to indicate the approach of an army, and the siege was raised next morning. After this piece of service Ormonde made Castlehaven governor of Waterford with 1000 men, but the citizens refused to admit him or his soldiers.[159] [Sidenote: Ormonde garrisons Waterford.] [Sidenote: Inchiquin repulsed from Carrick, Nov. 24.]