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Battle of the Boyne

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Battle of the Boyne
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{{Short description|1690 Irish Williamite-Jacobite War battle}}{{For|the painting|The Battle of the Boyne (painting){{!}}The Battle of the Boyne (painting)}}{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}







factoids
below.}}| place = Oldbridge, County MeathGrand Alliance (League of Augsburg)>Grand Alliance victoryRoyal Standard of England (1603–1689).svg}} Jacobitism{{flagcountry>Kingdom of France}}Royal Standard of England (1689-1702) rev2.svg}} Williamites{{flagKingdom of Scotland}} ScotlandRoyal Standard of England (1603–1689).svg}} James II of England{{flagicon image>Royal Standard of England (1603–1689).svg}} Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell{{flagdeco>Kingdom of France}} Antoine Nompar de Caumont{{flagdeco>Kingdom of France}} James FitzJamesDutch Republic}}{{flagicon imageWilliam III of England>William III/II{{flagicon imageFrederick Schomberg, 1st Duke of Schomberg>Frederick Schomberg {{KIA}}{{flagdecoGodert de Ginkell, 1st Earl of Athlone>Godert de Ginkel{{flagiconHendrik Trajectinus, Count of Solms>Count of Solms{{flagiconFerdinand Willem, Duke of Wurttemberg-Neuenstadt>Duke of Wurttemberg| strength2 = 23,500| strength1 = 36,000| casualties2 = 1,500 killed or wounded| casualties1 = 500 killed or wounded| map_type = Island of Ireland| map_relief = yes53230625dim:1000_region:IE-L_type:eventname=battle site}}}}{{Campaignbox War of the Grand Alliance}}{{Campaignbox Williamite war in Ireland}}The Battle of the Boyne ( {{IPA-ga|ˈkah n̪ˠə ˈbË oːn̠ʲə|IPA}}) took place in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and James’s daughter), had acceded to the Crowns of England and Scotland{{efn|The “Patriot Parliament” session of the Parliament of Ireland confirmed James as King of Ireland, though Poynings Law arguably made this invalid. In any case, the subsequent Act of Recognition, of their Majesties [sic] undoubted Right to the Crown of Ireland, 1692 set this aside.}} in 1689. The battle was fought across the River Boyne close to the town of Drogheda in the Kingdom of Ireland, modern-day Republic of Ireland, and resulted in a victory for William. This turned the tide in James’s failed attempt to regain the British crown and ultimately aided in ensuring the continued Protestant ascendancy in Ireland.The battle took place on 1 July 1690 O.S. William’s forces defeated James’s army, which consisted mostly of raw recruits. Although the Williamite War in Ireland continued until the signing of the Treaty of Limerick in October 1691, James fled to France after the Boyne, never to return.

Background

The battle was a major encounter in James’s attempt to regain the thrones of England and Scotland, resulting from the Invitation to William and William’s wife, Mary, from the ‘immortal seven’ English peers to take the throne to defend Protestantism. But the conflict had broader and deeper European geopolitical roots, of the League of Augsburg and the Grand Alliance against the expansionist ambitions of Catholic Louis XIV of France, or of the House of Bourbon against the House of Habsburg.WEB,www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-the-Boyne, Battle of the Boyne, www.britannica.com, 6 July 2019, 21 July 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210721075838/https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-the-Boyne, live, WEB,www.britannica.com/biography/James-II-king-of-England-Scotland-and-Ireland, James II, King of England, Scotland and Ireland, www.britannica.com, 13 July 2019, 11 August 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210811203748/https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-II-king-of-England-Scotland-and-Ireland, live, WEB,www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/parliamentaryauthority/revolution/overview/invasiondesertion/, The Glorious Revolution, www.parliament.uk, 1 November 2019, 11 July 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210711094824/https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/parliamentaryauthority/revolution/overview/invasiondesertion/, live, WEB,www.libraryireland.com/HullHistory/JamesII1.php, James II in Ireland, www.libraryireland.com, 1 November 2019, 7 March 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210307092754/https://www.libraryireland.com/HullHistory/JamesII1.php, live, WEB,www.britannica.com/event/War-of-the-Grand-Alliance#ref278728, War of the Grand Alliance, www.britannica.com, 1 November 2019, 29 June 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210629070127/https://www.britannica.com/event/War-of-the-Grand-Alliance#ref278728, live, If the battle is seen as part of the War of the Grand Alliance, Pope Alexander VIII was an ally of William and an enemy to James; the Papal States were part of the Grand Alliance with a shared hostility to the Catholic Louis XIV of France, who at the time was attempting to establish dominance in Europe and to whom James was an ally.NEWS, How the battle of the Boyne earned its place in history,www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/jul/12/northernireland.comment, Brown, Derek, The Guardian, 11 July 2000, 17 December 2016, 26 May 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210526160820/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/jul/12/northernireland.comment, live, The previous year William had sent the Duke of Schomberg to take charge of the Irish campaign.BOOK, I. D., Elliott, “Schomberg, Friedrich Hermann, Duke of” Encyclopaedia Britannica, Volume 19, London, Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., William Benton, Publisher, 1973, 978-0-85229-173-3, 1174. “He went to Ireland as commander in chief against James II in August 1689...”, He was a 75-year-old professional soldier who had accompanied William during the Glorious Revolution. He brought an army of 20,000 men, which arrived at Bangor. Under his command, affairs had remained static and very little had been accomplished, partly because the English troops suffered severely from fever{{sfn|Elliott|1973|p=1174. “...but [he] could do little more than hold Ulster as there was much sickness in his small army, and he took no risks.“}} and the army’s move south was blocked by Jacobite forces; both sides camped for the winter.In an Irish context, the war was a sectarian and ethnic conflict, in many ways a re-run of the Irish Confederate Wars of 50 years earlier. For the Jacobites, the war was fought for Irish sovereignty, religious tolerance for Catholicism, and land ownership. The Catholic upper classes had lost or had been forced to exchange almost all their lands after Cromwell’s conquest, as well as the right to hold public office, practice their religion, and sit in the Irish Parliament.WEB,www.britannica.com/place/Ireland/James-I-1603-25, Charles I (1625–49) and the Commonwealth (1649–60), www.britannica.com, 1 November 2019, 24 October 2020,web.archive.org/web/20201024222236/https://www.britannica.com/place/Ireland/James-I-1603-25, live, To these ends, under Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnel, they had raised an army to restore James II after the Glorious Revolution. Sir James Fitz Edmond Cotter being the commander-in-chief of all King James’s forces in the counties of Cork, Kerry, Limerick, and Tipperary.Ó Cuív, pp. 155-157 By 1690, they controlled all of Ireland except for Derry and Enniskillen.The majority of Irish people were Jacobites and supported James II due to his 1687 Declaration of Indulgence or, as it is also known, the Declaration for the Liberty of Conscience, that granted religious freedom to all denominations in England and Scotland and also due to James II’s promise to the Irish Parliament of an eventual right to self-determination.BOOK, Tim, Harris, Revolution: The Great Crisis of the British Monarchy, 1685–1720, London, Allen Lane, 2006, 978-0-7139-9759-0, 440, JOURNAL, A ‘Beleaguered Protestant’?: Walter Harris and the Writing of Fiction Unmasked in Mid-18th-Century Ireland, Eoin, Magennis, 6–111, Eighteenth-Century Ireland, 13, 1998, 10.3828/eci.1998.8, 30064327, 256129781, Conversely, for the Williamites in Ireland, the war was about maintaining Protestant rule in Ireland. They feared for their lives and their property if James and his Catholic supporters were to rule Ireland, nor did they trust the promise of tolerance, seeing the Declaration of Indulgence as a ploy to re-establish Catholicism as the sole state religion. James had already antagonised English Protestants with his actions. In particular, they dreaded a repeat of the Irish Rebellion of 1641, which had been marked by widespread killing. For these reasons, Protestants fought en masse for William of Orange. Many Williamite troops at the Boyne, including their very effective irregular cavalry, were Ulster Protestants, who called themselves “Enniskilliners” and were referred to by contemporaries as “Scots-Irish”. These “Enniskilliners” were mostly the descendants of Anglo-Scottish border reivers; large numbers of these reivers had settled around Enniskillen in County Fermanagh.WEB,www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/cav/D06Innis.htm,www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/cav/D06Innis.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20080118141244www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/cav/D06Innis.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20080118141244www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/cav/D06Innis.htm, dead, 18 January 2008, The Inniskillings (6th Dragoons), 1 November 2019, BOOK, Jackson, Major E. S., INNISKILLING DRAGOONS: The Records of an Old Heavy Cavalry Regiment, The Naval & Military Press, Uckfield, East Sussex, 2015,

Commanders

(File:James II (1685).jpg|thumb|upright|James II, King of England and Ireland, James VII of Scotland, 1685–1688, portrayed as head of the army {{circa|1685}}))(File:William III, when Prince of Orange - Wissing 1685.jpg|thumb|upright|William III (“William of Orange“), King of England, Scotland and Ireland, 1689–1702, Stadtholder in the Netherlands, 1672–1702)The opposing armies in the battle were led by the Roman Catholic king James II of England and Ireland (VII of Scotland) and, opposing him, his nephew and son-in-law, the Protestant king William III (“William of Orange“) who had deposed James the previous year. James’s supporters controlled much of Ireland and the Irish Parliament.WEB, William III. King of England, Scotland and Ireland,www.britannica.com/biography/William-III-king-of-England-Scotland-and-Ireland, www.britannica.com, 15 July 2019, 17 June 2015,web.archive.org/web/20150617013151/https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-III-king-of-England-Scotland-and-Ireland, live, James also enjoyed the support of his cousin, Louis XIV, who did not want to see a hostile monarch on the throne of England. Louis sent 6,000 French troops to Ireland to support the Irish Jacobites.WEB,www.historyireland.com/penal-laws/the-williamite-war-1689-9111/, The Williamite War 1689–91(1:1), www.historyireland.com, 22 January 2013, 16 July 2019, 16 July 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190716185825/https://www.historyireland.com/penal-laws/the-williamite-war-1689-9111/, live, William was already Stadtholder of the Netherlands and was able to call on Dutch and allied troops from Europe as well as England and Scotland.James was a seasoned officer who had proved his bravery when fighting in Europe, notably at the Battle of the Dunes.WEB,www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-the-Dunes, Battle of the Dunes, www.britannica.com, 13 July 2019, 26 May 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190526080705/https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-the-Dunes, live, However, recent historians have suggested that he was prone to panicking under pressure and making rash decisions,BOOK, English History Made Brief, Irreverent, and Pleasurable, Baldwin Smith, Lacey, 224, Chicago Review Press, 2006, Chicago, which it has been suggested may have been due to poor health associated with the Stuart line.BOOK, Holmes, Frederick, The Sickly Stuarts:The Medical Downfall of a Dynasty, Sutton Publishing, 2003, Gloucester, William, although a seasoned commander,BOOK, Bevan, Bryan, King William III: Prince of Orange, the first European, Rubicon Press, 1997, London, had yet to win a major battle. William’s success against the French had been reliant upon tactical manoeuvres and good diplomacy rather than force. His diplomacy had assembled the League of Augsburg,BOOK, Payne, George, James, Rainsford, The Life and Times of Louis the Fourteenth, Volume 4, 154, London, Samuel Bentley, 1838, a multi-national coalition formed to resist French aggression in Europe. From William’s point of view, his taking power in England and the ensuing campaign in Ireland was just another front in the war against France in general, and Louis XIV in particular.BOOK, Blom, J. C. H., Lamberts, E., History of the Low Countries, 196, 2006, Berghahn Books, New York & Oxford, new English-language, James II’s subordinate commanders were Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, who was Lord Deputy of Ireland and James’s most powerful supporter in Ireland; Sir James Fitz Edmond Cotter, Brigadier General in command of all the Jacobite forces in counties Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary, and an intimate of James II; and the French general Lauzun.WEB,www.britannica.com/biography/Antonin-Nompar-de-Caumont-comte-et-duc-de-Lauzun, Antonin-Nompar de Caumont, count and duke de Lauzun, www.britannica.com, 15 July 2019, 3 June 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190603152755/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Antonin-Nompar-de-Caumont-comte-et-duc-de-Lauzun, live, William’s commander-in-chief was the Duke of Schomberg. Born in Heidelberg, Germany, Schomberg had fought for a few different countries and had formerly been a Marshal of France, but, being a Huguenot, was compelled to leave France in 1685 because of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes.WEB,www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/german-history-biographies/frederick-herman-1st-duke-schomberg, Schomberg, Frederick Herman, 1st duke of, www.encyclopedia.com, 16 July 2019, 16 July 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190716185821/https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/german-history-biographies/frederick-herman-1st-duke-schomberg, live, WEB,www.britannica.com/biography/Frederick-Herman-duke-of-Schomberg, Frederick Herman, duke of Schomberg, www.britannica.com, 16 July 2019, 11 July 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190711233200/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Frederick-Herman-duke-of-Schomberg, live,

Armies

The Williamite army at the Boyne was about 36,000 strong, composed of troops from many countries;The Battle of the Boyne Teachers Notes & Resources – Secondary Level {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171025133305battleoftheboyne.ie/media/Secondary%20Education%20Pack.pdf |date=25 October 2017 }} (PDF) Office of Public Works (Ireland), (undated, retrieved 9 March 2017) Only around half of them were British.WEB, Britannica-Battle of the Boyne,www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-the-Boyne, Britannica.com, 16 December 2020, 21 July 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210721075838/https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-the-Boyne, live, Around 20,000 troops had been in Ireland since 1689,EPISODE, Battle of the Boyne, Battle of the Boyne: Part I,www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uGXtYvvk0U, 2:48, 6 July 2019, Laverty, Henry (producer/director), BBC, 1 Jan 1990, en, 1 July 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220701144343/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uGXtYvvk0U, live, commanded by Schomberg. William himself had landed in Carrickfergus on 14 June O.S. He met Schomberg at nearby Whitehouse, and then proceeded south through Belfast.JOURNAL, The Ulster Journal of Archaeology, King William’s Progress to the Boyne, 1853, 1, 131, 20563454, Loughbrickland was the rallying point of the scattered divisions of the army.BOOK, History of England from the accession of James II (1685) until the death of William III (1702), T.B., Macaulay, Chapter XVI, 1849, Harper, New York, JOURNAL, Ulster Journal of Archaeology, Two Unpublished Diaries, Connected with the Battle of the Boyne, 1, 4, Belfast, 1856, 80, He arrived there with another 16,000 in June 1690.BOOK, The Cambridge History of Ireland: Volume 2, 1550–1730, Ohlmeyer, Jane, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2018, On 30 June O.S. William had reached the top of a hill near the southern border of County Louth.William’s troops were generally far better trained and equipped than James’s. The best Williamite infantry were from Denmark (7000) and the Netherlands (6000), professional soldiers equipped with the latest flintlock muskets.EPISODE, Battle of the boyne, Battle of the Boyne: Part I,www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uGXtYvvk0U, 2:32, 6 July 2019, Laverty, Henry (producer/director), BBC, 1 Jan 1990, en, 1 July 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220701144343/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uGXtYvvk0U, live, The Danish infantry was commanded by General Ernst von Tettau. There was also a large (3000) contingent of French Huguenot troops fighting with the Williamites. William did not yet have a high opinion of his English and Scottish troops, with the exception of the Ulster Protestant “skirmishers” who had held Derry in the previous year; the English and Scottish troops were felt at this stage to be politically unreliable, since James had been their legitimate monarch up to a year before. Moreover, they had only been raised recently and had seen little action.BOOK, The Williamite Wars in Ireland, Childs, John, 33, 135, A & C Black, 2007, London/New York, James’s flag was erected at the town of Donore, on the opposite side of the river Boyne. The Jacobites were 23,500 strong. James had several regiments of French troops, but most of his manpower was provided by Irish Catholics, with some English and Scottish Jacobites also present. The Jacobites’ Irish cavalry, who were recruited from among the dispossessed Irish gentry, proved themselves to be high-calibre troops during the course of the battle.EPISODE, Battle of the boyne, Battle of the Boyne: Part I,www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uGXtYvvk0U, 10:50, 6 July 2019, Laverty, Henry (producer/director), BBC, 1 Jan 1990, en, 1 July 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220701144343/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uGXtYvvk0U, live, However, the Irish infantry, predominantly peasants who had been pressed into service, were not trained soldiers. They had been hastily trained, poorly equipped, and only a minority of them had functional muskets. In fact, some of them carried only farm implements such as scythes at the Boyne.BBC History: The Battle of the Boyne {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205224210www.bbc.co.uk/history/events/battle_of_the_boyne |date=5 December 2013 }} BBC, (undated, retrieved 9 March 2017) Furthermore, the Jacobite infantry who actually had firearms were all equipped with the obsolete matchlock musket. The French and Irish troops wore a white rallying mark, as a compliment to the Bourbons and to distinguish them from the Williamites.

The battle

File:CANE(1859) p235 PLAN OF THE BATTLE OF BOYNE.jpg|thumb|Map of the Battle of the Boyne. (South being up; west to the right.)1. Drogheda 2. Jacobite army 3. Jacobite batteries 4. Donore 5. Oldbridge 6. William’s line of march from Ardee 7. A small hamlet 8. The Williamite Camp 9. The hill whence William saw the Jacobite camp 10. Pass called King William’s Glen 11. Place where William was wounded 12. Slane 13. Bridge near Slane 14. Where the Dutch passed the river 15. French and Enniskillingers ditto 16. Sir J. Hansner’s & Count Nassau’s ditto 17. Left wing of William’s Horse 18. Mattlock rivulet 19. Where right wing of William’s army crossed the river 20. Village of Duleek 21. Low marshy ground 22. RosnareeRosnareeFile:William III at the Battle of the Boyne.jpg|thumb|The Battle of the Boyne, painted by Benjamin WestBenjamin WestWilliam sailed from Hoylake in Cheshire, landing at Carrickfergus, County Antrim on 14 June O.S. and marched south. Referring to Dublin, he was heard to remark that “the place was worth fighting for”. James chose to place his line of defence on the River Boyne, around {{cvt|30|mi}} from Dublin. The Williamites reached the Boyne on 29 June. The day before the battle, William himself had a narrow escape when he was wounded in the shoulder by Jacobite artillery while surveying the fords over which his troops would cross the Boyne.EPISODE, Battle of the boyne, Battle of the Boyne: Part I,www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uGXtYvvk0U, 4:05, 21 July 2019, Lavery, Henry (producer/director), BBC, 1 Jan 1990, en, 1 July 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220701144343/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uGXtYvvk0U, live, The battle itself was fought on 1 July O.S. (11 July N.S.), for control of a ford on the Boyne near Drogheda, about {{cvt|2.5|km}} north-west of the hamlet of Oldbridge. As a diversionary tactic, William sent about a quarter of his men under the cover of morning mist to cross the river at Roughgrange, about {{cvt|4|km}} west of Donore and about {{cvt|6|mi}} south-west of Oldbridge. The Duke of Schomberg’s son, Meinhardt, led this crossing, which a small force of Irish dragoons in picquet under Neil O’Neill unsuccessfully opposed.EPISODE, Battle of the boyne, Battle of the Boyne: Part I,www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uGXtYvvk0U, 8:00, 21 July 2019, Laverty, Henry (producer/director), BBC, 1 Jan 1990, en, 1 July 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220701144343/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uGXtYvvk0U, live, James thought that he might be outflanked and sent a large part of his army, including his best French troops along with most of his artillery, to counter this move. What neither side had realised was that there was a deep, swampy ravine at Roughgrange. Because of this ravine, the opposing forces there could not engage each other, but literally sat out the battle as artillery engaged. The Williamite forces went on a long detour march which, later in the day, almost saw them cut off the Jacobite retreat at the village of Naul.EPISODE, Battle of the boyne, Battle of the Boyne: Part I,www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uGXtYvvk0U, 9:10, 21 July 2019, Laverty, Henry (producer/director), BBC, 1 Jan 1990, en, 1 July 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220701144343/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uGXtYvvk0U, live, At the main ford near Oldbridge, William’s infantry, led by the elite Dutch Blue Guards under Solms, forced their way across the river, using their superior firepower to slowly drive back the Jacobite foot soldiers, but were pinned down when the Jacobite cavalry, commanded by James II’s son James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick,Handley, Stuart (May 2011). “Fitzjames, James, Duke of Berwick upon Tweed (1670–1734”. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. counter-attacked. Having secured the village of Oldbridge, the Williamite infantry tried to hold off successive Jacobite Irish cavalry attacks with disciplined volley fire, but many were scattered and driven into the river, with the exception of the Blue Guards.{{sfn|Van Nimwegen|2020|p=207}} When William saw his Dutch Guards isolated on the enemy side of the river and without any protection from natural obstacles he was extremely worried according to an eyewitness: {{Blockquote|But when he saw them stand their ground and fire by platoons, so that the horse were forced to run away in great disorder, he breathed out…, and said he had seen his Guards do that which he had never seen foot do in his life.{{sfn|Blackmore|2014|p=100}}}} The Blue Guards had formed up in three separate squares and were, by using platoon fire, able to drive away the Jacobite cavalry.{{sfn|Van Nimwegen|2020|p=207}}{{sfn|Blackmore|2014|p=100}} The Williamites were not able to resume their advance until their own horsemen managed to cross the river and, after being badly mauled, particularly the Huguenots,EPISODE, Battle of the boyne, Battle of the Boyne: Part I,www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uGXtYvvk0U, 11:00, 21 July 2019, Laverty, Henry (producer/director), BBC, 1 Jan 1990, en, 1 July 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220701144343/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uGXtYvvk0U, live, managed to hold off the Jacobite cavalry. William’s second-in-command, the Duke of Schomberg, and George Walker were killed in this phase of the battle. The Irish cavalry finally gave up when Danish infantry commanded by Wurttemberg and cavalry led by Godert de Ginkel (about 11 or 12 squadrons), who had both crossed the river further downstream, advanced towards them.{{sfn|Van Nimwegen|2020|p=207}}The Jacobites retired in good order. William had a chance to trap them as they retreated across the River Nanny at Duleek, but his troops were held up by a successful rear-guard action. The Dutch secretary of King William, Constantijn Huygens Jr., has given a good description (in Dutch) of the battle and its aftermath, including subsequent cruelties committed by the victorious soldiers.Observaties van een Zeventiende-eeuwse wereldbeschouwer, Constantijn Huygens en de uitvinding van het moderne dagboek. Dekker, Rudolf, Amsterdam 2013 pp. 45–47.The casualty figures of the battle were quite low for a battle of such a scale—of the 50,000 or so participants, about 2,000 died. Three quarters of the dead were Jacobites. William’s army had far more wounded. At the time, most casualties of battles tended to be inflicted in the pursuit of an already-beaten enemy; this did not happen at the Boyne, as the counter-attacks of the skilled Jacobite cavalry screened the retreat of the rest of their army, and in addition William was always disinclined to endanger the person of James, since he was the father of his wife, Mary. The Jacobites were badly demoralised by the order to retreat, which lost them the battle. Many of the Irish infantrymen deserted, abandoning clothing in their escape.EPISODE, Battle of the boyne, Battle of the Boyne: Part I,www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uGXtYvvk0U, 15:10, 21 July 2019, Laverty, Henry (producer/director), BBC, 1 Jan 1990, en, 1 July 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220701144343/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uGXtYvvk0U, live, The Williamites triumphantly marched into Dublin two days after the battle. The Jacobite army abandoned the city and marched to Limerick, behind the River Shannon, where they were unsuccessfully besieged.Soon after the battle, William issued the Declaration of Finglas, offering full pardons to ordinary Jacobite soldiers, but not to their leaders.

Aftermath

File:Battle of the Boyne.jpg|220px|thumb|right|William crosses the Boyne, by Jan Hoynck van PapendrechtJan Hoynck van PapendrechtThe battle was overshadowed in Britain by the defeat of an Anglo-Dutch fleet by the French on the previous day at the Battle of Beachy Head, a far more serious event in the short term;BOOK, Macaulay, Lord, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, 4, 854–858, Macmillan & Co. Ltd, London, 1914, but on the continent the Battle of the Boyne was treated as an important victory. Its importance lay in the fact that it was the first proper victory for the League of Augsburg, the first-ever alliance between the Vatican and Protestant countries. The victory motivated more nations to join the alliance and in effect ended the fear of a French conquest of Europe.WEB,www.britannica.com/event/War-of-the-Grand-Alliance#ref278728, War of the Grand Alliance, www.britannica.com, 31 October 2019, 29 June 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210629070127/https://www.britannica.com/event/War-of-the-Grand-Alliance#ref278728, live, The Boyne also had strategic significance for both England and Ireland. It marked the beginning of the end of James’s hope of regaining his throne by military means and probably assured the triumph of the Glorious Revolution. In Scotland, news of this defeat temporarily silenced the Highlanders supporting the Jacobite rising, which had been led by Bonnie Dundee who was killed the previous July at the Battle of Killiecrankie.WEB,www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100015839, Jacobite Risings, www.oxfordreference.com, 31 October 2019, 21 June 2017,www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100015839," title="web.archive.org/web/20170621091108www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100015839,">web.archive.org/web/20170621091108www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100015839, live, The battle was a general victory for William. Owing to the political situation mentioned above, Catholic institutions amongst William’s continental allies hailed his victory with bell-ringing.NEWS, Irish Examiner, Craving for a bond unlikely to lag due to a flag, 9 July 2016, Finn, Clodagh,www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/analysis/craving-for-a-bond-unlikely-to-lag-due-to-a-flag-409329.html, 31 October 2019, 31 October 2019,web.archive.org/web/20191031205835/https://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/analysis/craving-for-a-bond-unlikely-to-lag-due-to-a-flag-409329.html, live, File:Andrew Carrick Gow (1848-1920) - A Lost Cause, Flight of King James II after the Battle of the Boyne - N01530 - National Gallery.jpg|thumb|left|A Lost Cause, Flight of King James II after the Battle of the Boyne, by Andrew Carrick GowAndrew Carrick GowThe battle caused the Jacobites to abandon the city of Dublin, which was occupied by William’s forces, without a fight. Despairing of his hopes for victory, James II fled to Duncannon and returned to exile in France, even though his army left the field relatively unscathed. James’s loss of nerve and speedy exit from the battlefield enraged his Irish supporters and he was derisively nicknamed Séamus a’ chaca (“James the shit“) in Irish.BOOK, War and Politics in Ireland, 1649–1730, Simms, J. G., 184, 203, 1986, The Hambledon Press, London & Ronceverte, BOOK, The Jacobites: Britain and Europe, 1688–1788, Szechi, Daniel, Manchester & New York, 49, Manchester University Press, 1994, The war in Ireland had not ended, however. The Franco-Irish Jacobite army regrouped in Limerick and fought off a Williamite assault on the city in late August. It was not until the following year and battle of Aughrim that their forces were broken and after another siege of Limerick, they surrendered to William’s general Godard de Ginkel. The war in Ireland formally ended with the Treaty of Limerick in 1691. This allowed over 14,000 Irish soldiers under Patrick Sarsfield, to leave for France and allowed most Irish Catholic land owners to keep their land provided they swore allegiance to William of Orange. However, the Protestant dominated Irish Parliament rejected these terms, not ratifying the treaty until 1697—and then not in full—and imposed a tough Penal Code resented by Irish Catholics for many years.WEB,celt.ucc.ie/published/E703001-010/text001.html, The Treaty of Limerick, 1691, www.ucc.ie/en/, 31 October 2019, 31 December 2018,web.archive.org/web/20181231214915/https://celt.ucc.ie/published/E703001-010/text001.html, live, WEB,www.courts.ie/Courts.ie/Library3.nsf/pagecurrent/EA59D61A0CD9C5A680257FC3005B5422, History of the law, 1691 – present, www.courts.ie, 31 October 2019, 31 October 2019,www.courts.ie/Courts.ie/Library3.nsf/pagecurrent/EA59D61A0CD9C5A680257FC3005B5422," title="web.archive.org/web/20191031205835www.courts.ie/Courts.ie/Library3.nsf/pagecurrent/EA59D61A0CD9C5A680257FC3005B5422,">web.archive.org/web/20191031205835www.courts.ie/Courts.ie/Library3.nsf/pagecurrent/EA59D61A0CD9C5A680257FC3005B5422, live, WEB,www.encyclopedia.com/international/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/treaty-limerick, Treaty of Limerick, www.encyclopedia.com, 31 October 2019, 31 October 2019,web.archive.org/web/20191031205835/https://www.encyclopedia.com/international/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/treaty-limerick, live, WEB, Battle of the Boyne: King William III’s Victory in Ireland,www.historynet.com/battle-of-the-boyne-king-william-iiis-victory-in-ireland.htm, www.historynet.com, 12 June 2006, 31 October 2019, 5 October 2019,web.archive.org/web/20191005141939/https://www.historynet.com/battle-of-the-boyne-king-william-iiis-victory-in-ireland.htm, live,

Commemoration

Originally, the Twelfth of July commemoration was that of the Battle of Aughrim, symbolising British Protestants’ victory in the Williamite war in Ireland. At Aughrim, which took place a year after the Boyne, the Jacobite army was destroyed, deciding the war in the Williamites’ favour. The Boyne, which, in the old Julian calendar, took place on 1 July O.S., was treated as less important, third after Aughrim and the anniversary of the Irish Rebellion of 1641 on 23 October O.S.In 1752, the Gregorian calendar was also adopted in Ireland.’The Pope’s new invention’: the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in Ireland, 1583–1782, page 9 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161214150714www.ucc.ie/celt/Calender_Rome.pdf |date=14 December 2016 }} History Department, University College Cork, 1 April 2006 However, even after this date, “The Twelfth” continued to be commemorated at Aughrim, on 12 July NS,BOOK, Lenihan, Padraig, 2003, 1690 Battle of the Boyne, Tempus, 258–259, 9780752425979, following the usual historical convention of commemorating events of that period within Great Britain and Ireland by mapping the Julian date directly onto the modern Gregorian calendar date (as happens for example with Guy Fawkes Night on 5 November). But, after the Orange Order was founded in 1795 amid sectarian violence in County Armagh, the two events were combined in the late 18th century.File:King William Statue 1.jpg|Statue of William of Orange on College Green, in Dublin, erected in 1701. It was destroyed in 1929.File:Boyne Obelisk.jpg|View of the commemorative Boyne Obelisk prior to 1883 (erected in 1736). It was destroyed in 1923.File:Medal Struck to Commemorate the Battle of the Boyne (Robert Chambers, p.8, July 1832) - Copy.jpg|Medal struck to commemorate the Battle of the Boyne (Robert Chambers, p. 8, July 1832)BOOK, Chambers, Robert, The Book of Days: A Miscellany of Popular Antiquities in Connection with the Calendar, Including Anecdote, Biography, & History, Curiosities of Literature and Oddities of Human Life and Character, Volume 2, 1832, W. & R. Chambers Limited, London,books.google.com/books?id=K0UJAAAAIAAJ&q=Robert+Chambers+1832, 7 January 2016, 7 March 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220307034824/https://books.google.com/books?id=K0UJAAAAIAAJ&q=Robert+Chambers+1832, live,

“The Twelfth” in Northern Ireland today

The Battle of the Boyne remains a controversial topic today in Northern Ireland, where some Protestants remember it as the great victory over Catholics that resulted in the sovereignty of Parliament and the Protestant monarchy.NEWS, The Irish Post,www.irishpost.com/uncategorized/twelve-things-know-marching-season-northern-ireland-94314, Twelve things you should know about marching season in Northern Ireland on ‘The Twelfth’, Dublin, 11 July 2016, 17 July 2019, 17 July 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190717171941/https://www.irishpost.com/uncategorized/twelve-things-know-marching-season-northern-ireland-94314, live, In recent decades, “The Twelfth” has often been marked by confrontations, as members of the Orange Order attempt to celebrate the date by marching past or through what they see as their traditional route.BOOK, Bryan, Dominic, Orange Parades: The politics of ritual, tradition and control,archive.org/details/orangeparadespol00brya, limited, Pluto Press, 147–148, 2000, Some of these areas, however, now have a nationalist majority who object to marches passing through what they see as their areas.Many nationalists still see these marches as provocative, whilst Unionist marchers insist that it is part of their historical right to celebrate. Since the start of the Troubles, the celebrations of the battle have been seen as playing a critical role in the awareness of those involved in the unionist/nationalist tensions in Northern Ireland. Better policing and improved dialogue between the sides in the 21st century have made for more peaceful parades.

“The Eleventh Night” in Northern Ireland

There are also traditions set to happen on 11 July, the eve of the Twelfth Night, known as the Eleventh Night. On this night, Protestants ignite bonfires all over Northern Ireland to celebrate the commencement of the Twelfth Night.The reason they use bonfires to symbolize the event dates back to the pagan celebrations of Midsummer, Bealtaine and Samhain, where fire is used as a symbol of celebration.WEB, Corscadden, Jane, 2022-07-06, The reason bonfires are lit on the Eleventh Night in NI,www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/twelfth-july-bonfires-lit-across-24400597, 2022-12-15, BelfastLive, en, (File:Eleventh_Night_Bonfire.jpg|thumb|Bonfire pyre including the Tricolour flag)Many object to the use of bonfires in Loyalist celebrations today, especially because many bonfires now include “the burning of flags, effigies and election posters.“NEWS, 2021-07-09, The Twelfth: Why are bonfires lit in Northern Ireland?, en-GB, BBC News,www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-57745905, 2022-12-15,

Battlefield preservation

(File:River Boyne Oldbridge.jpg|thumb|River Boyne at Oldbridge in 2011)The site of the Battle of the Boyne sprawls over a wide area west of the town of Drogheda in the Republic of Ireland. In the County Development Plan for 2000, Meath County Council rezoned the land at the eastern edge of Oldbridge, at the site of the main Williamite crossing, to residential status. A subsequent planning application for a development of over 700 houses was granted by Meath County Council and this was appealed against by local historians to An Bord Pleanála (The Planning Board). In March 2008, after an extremely long appeal process, An Bord Pleanála approved permission for this development to proceed.WEB,40.127.167.5/casenum/224875.htm, 224875: Oldbridge, Rathmullen Road, Drogheda, Co. Meath (SA/60260), www.pleanala.ie/, 31 October 2019, 31 October 2019,40.127.167.5/casenum/224875.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/2019103117462540.127.167.5/casenum/224875.htm,">web.archive.org/web/2019103117462540.127.167.5/casenum/224875.htm, live, Further plans have been submitted for hundreds more homes and a link to the River Boyne Boardwalk.WEB,www.independent.ie/regionals/droghedaindependent/housing-boom-as-661-homes-planned-on-rathmullen-road-38616332.html, Housing boom as 661 homes planned on Rathmullen Road, www.independent.ie, 25 October 2019, 31 October 2019, 31 October 2019,web.archive.org/web/20191031174624/https://www.independent.ie/regionals/droghedaindependent/housing-boom-as-661-homes-planned-on-rathmullen-road-38616332.html, live, The Battle of the Boyne Visitor Centre at Oldbridge house is run by the Office of Public Works, an agency of the Irish government, and is about {{cvt|1|mi|spell=in}} to the west of the main river crossing point. The battle’s other main combat areas, at Duleek, Donore and Plattin, along the Jacobite line of retreat, are marked with tourist information signs.On 4 April 2007, in a sign of improving relations between unionist and nationalist groups, the newly elected First Minister of Northern Ireland, the Reverend Ian Paisley, was invited to visit the battle site by the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern later in the year. Following the invitation, Paisley commented that “such a visit would help to demonstrate how far we have come when we can celebrate and learn from the past so the next generation more clearly understands”. On 10 May, the visit took place, and Paisley presented the Taoiseach with a Jacobite musket in return for Ahern’s gift at the St Andrews talks of a walnut bowl made from a tree from the site. A new tree was also planted in the grounds of Oldbridge House by the two politicians to mark the occasion.NEWS,news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/6645119.stm, Paisley and Ahern visit 1690 site, BBC News, 11 May 2007, 22 November 2019, 20 May 2022,news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/6645119.stm," title="web.archive.org/web/20220520150923news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/6645119.stm,">web.archive.org/web/20220520150923news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/6645119.stm, live,

See also

Notes

Explanatory footnotes

{{Notelist}}

Citations

{{Reflist}}

Further reading

  • BOOK, Doherty, Richard, 1998, The Williamite War in Ireland 1688–1691, Dublin, Four Courts Press, 1-85182-375-1,
  • BOOK, Hayes-Mac Coy, G. A., 1990, Irish Battles, Belfast, Appletree Press, 0-86281-250-X, 231283129,
  • BOOK, Lenihan, Padraig, 2003, 1690: Battle of the Boyne, Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK, Tempus Publishing, 0-7524-3304-0, 61303112,
  • BOOK, Van Nimwegen, Olaf, De Veertigjarige Oorlog 1672-1712: de strijd van de Nederlanders tegen de Zonnekoning (The 40 Years War 1672-1712: the Dutch struggle against the Sun King), Prometheus, 2020, 978-90-446-3871-4, Dutch,
  • BOOK, Blackmore, David, 2014, Destructive & Formidable: British Infantry Firepower, 1642–1756, Frontline Books,irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/86/1/212395_David.Blackmore-2012.pdf,

External links

{{Jacobitism}}{{Museums and galleries in the Republic of Ireland by province}}{{UK Holidays}}{{Authority control}}

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