Siege of Charlemont
Encyclopedia
The Siege of Charlemont took place in July - August 1650 during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
when the fortress of Charlemont
in County Armagh
, Ireland
was besieged by Charles Coote's Parliamentarian army, which was largely composed of soldiers of the New Model Army
. The force led by Coote eventually took the fort from its Irish defenders, but not before they suffered heavy losses, with some 5-800 Parliamentarian Soldiers being killed during assaults on the formidable stronghold. In terms of the number of soldiers killed in battle, The Siege of Charlemont was the second bloodiest engagement fought by the Parliamentarians in Ireland, only surpassed by the Siege of Clonmel
.
At the end of 1649, a force of New Model Army soldiers under Robert Venables
moved into Ulster and linked up with Charles Coote's small army. The combined force conquered eastern Ulster easily, routing the Scottish Royalist Ulster army at Lisnagarvey
. The only serious opposition to the Parliamentarian army came from Felim O'Neill's Ulstermen, who launched a night attack on the Parliamentarian camp, though to little effect.
At the end of 1649, the Irish Ulster army had been momentarily paralysed as a result of the death of Owen Roe O'Neill
. In 1650 Heber MacMahon
was chosen to lead the Ulster army, and by mid 1650 the force was once again active, pushing into Ulster and threatening the forces under Coote. MacMahon however was a bishop rather than a military man, and at the battle of Scarrifholis
he led the Ulster army to its destruction.
The only senior Irish commander to escape Scarriffhollis was Sir Felim O'Neill. Along with a small number of survivors, he made his way to Charlemont Fort, the last remaining Irish stronghold in Ulster.
Realising that the fort would be near impossible to capture without heavy artillery, Venables and Coote brought Siege Cannon
and Mortars
with their army when they commenced their attack in late July.
As a Gaelic Irish Catholic, Felim O'Neill had good enough reason to fear Coote, but O'Neill had also featured prominently in English Propaganda pamphlets during the 1640s as the authour of a massacre of Protestants. He was thus hated by many Protestant soldiers in Ireland, and the army surrounding him would therefore be particularly vigilant.
O'Neill did however have a few small points to his advantage. Firstly, the fortress at Charlemont was one of the toughest fortresses in Ireland. Secondly, Coote's reputation was by now well known, and no Irish Catholic would be mad enough to willingly surrender to him. The defenders of Charlement were thus well aware that they would have little hope of survival if the Parliamentarians captured the fortress. The fighting would invariably prove to be fierce.
Coote then ordered his troops to cut approach trenches up to the walls. On the 8th of August the English launched a major assault. Felim O'Neill rallied the entire garrison as well the civilian inhabitants to mount a vigorous defence at the breach- even the women had armed themselves as best they could. The defence was in many respects a repeat of the defence of Clonmel in May: Hundreds of English soldiers were killed by the desperate defenders, and the remainder were forced out of the breach and back to their lines. After this huge effort the garrison was however exhausted, bloodied, and had used up almost all of their gunpowder and ammunition. As a result, on August 14 O'Neill requested terms of surrender. Sir Felim O'Neill demanded hostages from Coote before he would negotiate the surrender. The terms that O'Neill obtained were that he and his men would march out with bag and baggage after their wounds had healed, and proceed to a port where Coote would have ship waiting to carry them overseas. These were a remarkably generous set of terms from Coote: He probably had no other option, for by now few would be willing to surrender to Coote unless extraordinary conditions were offered.
, he had proven himself ruthless on a number of occasions, executing any enemy who fell into his hands. As such, The Ulster Irish defenders were willing to fight to the death.
Felim O'Neill's defence of Charlemont, as well as his overall defence of Ulster in 1649-50, was vigorous, a contrast to his often incompetent handling of the early years of the Irish uprising. Although the terms of surrender allowed O'Neill to leave, he tried to hide in Ulster, and was eventually found and executed.
The fall of the stronghold was another blow for Ormonde
's reputation. In September the Irish bishops excommunicated any Catholic serving Ormonde, and he left Ireland in December. .
From a Parliamentarian perspective, the fall of Charlemont completed the English conquest of Ulster and left Sir Charles Coote free to advance on Athlone, the passage to the province of Connacht.
Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland refers to the conquest of Ireland by the forces of the English Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Cromwell landed in Ireland with his New Model Army on behalf of England's Rump Parliament in 1649...
when the fortress of Charlemont
Charlemont
Charlemont is a small village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 150 people in the 2001 Census. It is situated within the Armagh City and District Council area...
in County Armagh
County Armagh
-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
was besieged by Charles Coote's Parliamentarian army, which was largely composed of soldiers of the New Model Army
New Model Army
The New Model Army of England was formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War, and was disbanded in 1660 after the Restoration...
. The force led by Coote eventually took the fort from its Irish defenders, but not before they suffered heavy losses, with some 5-800 Parliamentarian Soldiers being killed during assaults on the formidable stronghold. In terms of the number of soldiers killed in battle, The Siege of Charlemont was the second bloodiest engagement fought by the Parliamentarians in Ireland, only surpassed by the Siege of Clonmel
Siege of Clonmel
The Siege of Clonmel took place in April – May 1650 during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland when the town of Clonmel in County Tipperary was besieged by Oliver Cromwell’s New Model Army. Cromwell's 8,000 men eventually took the town from its 2,000 Irish defenders, but not before they...
.
Background
Charlemont was the first stronghold to be captured in the Irish uprisng of 1641, seized a force led by Felim O'Neill within 24 hours of the outbreak of the rebellion. It was one of the most modern fortrifications in Ireland and as such was one of the few strongholds in Northern Ireland to remain in Irish Confederate hands throughout the 1640s.At the end of 1649, a force of New Model Army soldiers under Robert Venables
Robert Venables
Robert Venables , was a soldier during the English Civil War and noted angler.Venables was lieutenant-colonel in the parliamentary army. He was wounded at Chester in 1645. He was appointed governor of Liverpool in 1648. He served with success in Ireland from 1649 until 1654...
moved into Ulster and linked up with Charles Coote's small army. The combined force conquered eastern Ulster easily, routing the Scottish Royalist Ulster army at Lisnagarvey
Battle of Lisnagarvey
The Battle of Lisnagarvey took place near Lisburn, 20 miles south of Carrickfergus, in south county Antrim, Ireland in December 1649. It was fought between the Royalists army and the Parliamentarians during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.-Background:When the army of Oliver Cromwell landed in...
. The only serious opposition to the Parliamentarian army came from Felim O'Neill's Ulstermen, who launched a night attack on the Parliamentarian camp, though to little effect.
At the end of 1649, the Irish Ulster army had been momentarily paralysed as a result of the death of Owen Roe O'Neill
Owen Roe O'Neill
Eoghan Ruadh Ó Néill , anglicised as Owen Roe O'Neill , was a seventeenth century soldier and one of the most famous of the O'Neill dynasty of Ulster.- In Spanish service :...
. In 1650 Heber MacMahon
Heber MacMahon
Heber MacMahon was bishop of Clogher and general in Ulster. He was educated at the Irish college, Douay, and at Louvain, and ordained a Roman Catholic priest 1625. He became bishop of Clogher in 1643 and a leader among the confederate Catholics. As a general of the Ulster army he fought Oliver...
was chosen to lead the Ulster army, and by mid 1650 the force was once again active, pushing into Ulster and threatening the forces under Coote. MacMahon however was a bishop rather than a military man, and at the battle of Scarrifholis
Battle of Scarrifholis
The Battle of Scarrifholis was fought in Donegal North-West Ireland, on the 21st of June 1650, during the Irish Confederate Wars – part of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms Cogadh ná Trí Ríocht...
he led the Ulster army to its destruction.
The only senior Irish commander to escape Scarriffhollis was Sir Felim O'Neill. Along with a small number of survivors, he made his way to Charlemont Fort, the last remaining Irish stronghold in Ulster.
Realising that the fort would be near impossible to capture without heavy artillery, Venables and Coote brought Siege Cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
and Mortars
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
with their army when they commenced their attack in late July.
The Commanders
Charles Coote, who led the mostly English Ulster army, had a savage reputation - during the Parliamentarian offensive in Ulster in late 1649, he exhibited brutal behaviour, committing atrocities not only against Irish Catholics but also against any Scottish Protestants who resisted his advance. After his victory at Scarrifholis, he executed all the soldiers, regardless of rank, who had surrendered to the lower ranking Parliamentarian officers: Even Henry O'Neill, the son of Owen Roe, was put to death. This was considered to be a shocking atrocity, even by the low standards of the time.As a Gaelic Irish Catholic, Felim O'Neill had good enough reason to fear Coote, but O'Neill had also featured prominently in English Propaganda pamphlets during the 1640s as the authour of a massacre of Protestants. He was thus hated by many Protestant soldiers in Ireland, and the army surrounding him would therefore be particularly vigilant.
O'Neill did however have a few small points to his advantage. Firstly, the fortress at Charlemont was one of the toughest fortresses in Ireland. Secondly, Coote's reputation was by now well known, and no Irish Catholic would be mad enough to willingly surrender to him. The defenders of Charlement were thus well aware that they would have little hope of survival if the Parliamentarians captured the fortress. The fighting would invariably prove to be fierce.
The assault
By early August, the Parliamentarians had managed to batter a breach in the fortifications.Coote then ordered his troops to cut approach trenches up to the walls. On the 8th of August the English launched a major assault. Felim O'Neill rallied the entire garrison as well the civilian inhabitants to mount a vigorous defence at the breach- even the women had armed themselves as best they could. The defence was in many respects a repeat of the defence of Clonmel in May: Hundreds of English soldiers were killed by the desperate defenders, and the remainder were forced out of the breach and back to their lines. After this huge effort the garrison was however exhausted, bloodied, and had used up almost all of their gunpowder and ammunition. As a result, on August 14 O'Neill requested terms of surrender. Sir Felim O'Neill demanded hostages from Coote before he would negotiate the surrender. The terms that O'Neill obtained were that he and his men would march out with bag and baggage after their wounds had healed, and proceed to a port where Coote would have ship waiting to carry them overseas. These were a remarkably generous set of terms from Coote: He probably had no other option, for by now few would be willing to surrender to Coote unless extraordinary conditions were offered.
Aftermath
The fighting at Charlemont was one of the bloodiest conflicts to be fought in Ireland by the Parliamentarians. Although many more soldiers died at Limerick the next year, these deaths were mostly the result of disease. By contrast, almost all the 500 or more soldiers who died at Charlemont were killed in the attempted storm of the fort. Coote bore a great deal of responsibility for the massive casualties he suffered during the siege. Like other Irish Protestant commanders such as Roger BoyleRoger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery
Roger Boyle redirects here. For others of this name, see Roger Boyle Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery was a British soldier, statesman and dramatist. He was the third surviving son of Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork and Richard's second wife, Catherine Fenton. He was created Baron of Broghill on...
, he had proven himself ruthless on a number of occasions, executing any enemy who fell into his hands. As such, The Ulster Irish defenders were willing to fight to the death.
Felim O'Neill's defence of Charlemont, as well as his overall defence of Ulster in 1649-50, was vigorous, a contrast to his often incompetent handling of the early years of the Irish uprising. Although the terms of surrender allowed O'Neill to leave, he tried to hide in Ulster, and was eventually found and executed.
The fall of the stronghold was another blow for Ormonde
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde PC was an Irish statesman and soldier. He was the second of the Kilcash branch of the family to inherit the earldom. He was the friend of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, who appointeed him commander of the Cavalier forces in Ireland. From 1641 to 1647, he...
's reputation. In September the Irish bishops excommunicated any Catholic serving Ormonde, and he left Ireland in December. .
From a Parliamentarian perspective, the fall of Charlemont completed the English conquest of Ulster and left Sir Charles Coote free to advance on Athlone, the passage to the province of Connacht.