Dauphiné (France) -- Description and travel; Huguenots; Waldenses
But James II. had not yet been got rid of. In the spring of 1689 he
landed at Kinsale, in Ireland, with substantial help obtained from the
French king. Before many weeks had elapsed, forty thousand Irish stood
in arms to support his cause. It was clear that William III. must
fight for his throne, and that Ireland was to be the battle-field. He
accordingly called his forces together again--for the greater part had
been disbanded--when he prepared to take the field in person. Four
Huguenot regiments were at once raised, three infantry regiments, and
one cavalry regiment. The cavalry regiment was raised by Marshal
Schomberg, its colonel. It was composed of French gentlemen, privates
as well as officers. De Péchels was offered a commission in the
regiment, which he cheerfully accepted. He assumed the name of his
barony, La Boissonade, as was common in those days; and he acted as
lieutenant in the company of La Fontain.
The regiment, when completed, was at once despatched to the north of
Ireland to join the little army of about ten thousand Protestants, who
had already laid siege to and taken the fortified town of
Carrickfergus. Schomberg's regiment embarked from Chester, on Monday,
the 25th of August, 1689; and on the following Saturday the squadron
arrived in Belfast Lough. The troopers were landed a little to the
west of Carrickfergus, and marched along the road towards Belfast,
which is still known as "Troopers' Lane." Next day the Duke moved on
in pursuit of the enemy. The regiment passed through Belfast, which
was then a very small place. It consisted of a few streets of thatched
cottages, grouped around what is now known as the High Street of
Belfast. Schomberg's regiment joined the infantry and the
Enniskilleners, who were encamped in a wood on the west of the town.
Next morning the little army started in pursuit of the enemy, who,
though in much greater numbers, fled before them, laying waste the
country. At night Schomberg's troops encamped at Lisburn; on the
following day at Dromore; on the third at Brickclay (this must be
Loughbrickland); and then on to Newry. All the villages they passed
were either burnt or burning. At length they heard that James's Irish
army was at Newry, and that the Duke of Berwick (James's natural son)
was in possession of the town with a strong body of horse. But before
Schomberg could reach the place the Duke of Berwick had evacuated it,
leaving the town in flames. The Duke had fled with such haste that he
had left some of his baggage behind him, and thrown his cannon into
the river. Schomberg ordered his cavalry to advance rapidly upon
Dundalk, in order to prevent the town from sharing the same fate as
Newry. This forced march took the enemy by surprise. They suddenly
abandoned Dundalk, without burning it, and never paused until they had
reached the entrenched camp of King James.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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