Believing that the fall of Belturbet, and the isolation of his position, must have dampened the ardor of Colonel O'Regan, the commandant of the Castle of Charlemont, Schomberg offered him honorable conditions in case he agreed to surrender the fort, but he found the spirit of this indomitable old chieftain as hopeful and defiant as ever. Since the arrival of Schomberg, he had succeeded in baffling all efforts to reduce the place; and, though now surrounded, and cut off on all sides from hope of succor, he thanked the duke for his offer, but replied that he would never surrender "his castle," and was determined to hold it for his king, or die in its ruins. He was, however, placed in a very embarrassing situation. Within the last few days a body of five hundred soldiers, bearing a scanty supply of ammunition and provisions, had forced their way into the garrison, and, having thus partially relieved it, were ordered unceremoniously to fight their way out again, but, in making the attempt, were driven back under the guns of the fort. The governor refused them admittance. He said that he was ordered to defend the place, and would do it, and looked on them as much his enemies as the troops of Schomberg. They were, therefore, placed on the counterscarp of the fort, where they were exposed to the fire of the enemy, and many of them were actually killed during the bombardment that followed. But, though in appearance, and in many of his characteristics, he affected the ogre, his heart relented; and, while he could bear to see them shot from the walls, he could not see them die of starvation, and so doled out his scanty provisions until they were consumed, and the garrison was reduced to all the horrors of a famine-siege. Every means of supporting life was now resorted to, and every effort for the reduction of the fort was in vain, until on the 14th of May, when, literally starved out, after a siege of nine, months from the landing of Schomberg, he capitulated, and marched out with what remained of his famished garrison. The terms granted him by Schomberg, who was impatient of delay, were highly honorable: the garrison was allowed to retire with arms and baggage, and the king, who neglected to succor him during this protracted siege, raised him to the order of knighthood, and he was henceforth known as Sir Teague O'Regan, and intrusted with the defence of Sligo, which he held until the last tocsin summoned him to Limerick.