Ireland Under the Tudors, Volume 3 — Chapter 51 The Spaniards in Munster 1601 to 1602 Part 2

[Sidenote: and is completely defeated.

] It had been arranged that the camp should be attacked at midnight, and that the besieged should make a sally upon the trenches at the same time.

Forewarned as he was, Mountjoy might have found it hard to resist such a combined onset, but there were other reasons for the failure of his assailants.

'The chiefs,' say the Irish annalists, 'were at variance, each of them contending that he himself should go foremost in the night's attack, so that they set out from their camp in three strong battalions, shoulder to shoulder, and elbow to elbow.

O'Neill with the Kinel-Owen and others were in a strong battalion apart; O'Donnell, with the Kinel-Connell, his sub-chieftains, and the Connaught men in general, formed the second battalion; those gentlemen of Munster, Leinster, and Meath, with their forces, who had risen up in the confederacy of the Irish war, and who had been in banishment in Ulster during the preceding part of this year, were in the third.'

Misled by his guides, O'Donnell wandered about all night, and when morning broke, Tyrone with O'Sullivan and the Spaniards found themselves close to the English lines and unsupported.

It is very difficult to understand the plan of attack.

Mountjoy's information was to the effect that the Castle Haven Spaniards, with 800 Irish under Tyrrell, intended to throw themselves into the town, join the garrison, and renew the combined attack on the following night with every chance of success.

What really happened was that the Irish fell into confusion on finding themselves suddenly faced by a well-prepared enemy.

Intending a surprise, they were surprised themselves.

Tyrone drew off his horse to re-form them, and the foot, supposing him to be flying, began to waver on all sides.

O'Donnell came up at this time, but all the endeavours of the chiefs were vain, for the ground was flat and open, and there was no scope for O'Neill's tactics.

Seeing the enemy in disarray, though still unbroken, Wingfield obtained leave to act on the offensive, and Clanricarde importuned him not to lose this chance.

Tyrrell and the Spaniards stood firm, and the English horse passed between them and Tyrone's main body.

A small bog had to be passed, but the troopers struggled through it, and but little resistance was offered.

'All,' says O'Sullivan, 'were seized with panic terror, or rather routed by divine vengeance.'

The Spaniards, who were less fleet of foot than their allies, made a stand about the ruins of an old castle, but were cut to pieces.

Their leader, Alonso del Campo, was taken and five other officers killed.

The Irish lost something like 2,000 men, while on the English side there was but one fatal casualty.

[390] [Sidenote: Utter rout of the Irish.

] [Sidenote: O'Donnell flies to Spain.

] [Sidenote: Disastrous retreat.

] 'The Earl of Clanricarde,' says Mountjoy, 'had many fair escapes, being shot through his garments, and no man did bloody his sword more than his lordship that day, and would not suffer any man to take any of the Irish prisoners, but bid them kill the rebels.'

He despatched a score at least with his own hand, and the Lord-Deputy knighted him on the field among the dead bodies, some of which were probably those of his kinsmen.

The pursuit continued for two miles, and the slaughter must have been much greater but that the half-starved horses could go no farther.

The whole army was paraded, and public thanksgiving was offered for the victory.

Indeed, both sides spoke of a special interposition of Providence, and old prophecies were remembered or invented to suit the occasion.

Greatly dejected, Tyrone withdrew to Innishannon, and no further attempt was made to relieve Kinsale.

'There prevailed,' say the annalists, 'much reproach on reproach, moaning and dejection, melancholy and anguish, in every quarter throughout the camp.

They slept not soundly, and scarcely did they take any refreshment.'

Next day it was decided that O'Donnell and others should go to Spain, and that his brother Rory with the rest of the Ulster chiefs should go home, Tyrrell and some of the Burkes remaining in Munster under the general command of O'Sullivan Bere.

With a shrewd knowledge of Irish politics O'Donnell urged that the whole army should remain in the south until he could bring fresh reinforcements from Spain, for that those who had been affectionate and kind to them when advancing, would plunder and mock them on their return.

Tyrone was perhaps ready to renew the conflict in Munster, but the Celtic army broke up into its component parts, and each clan struggled northwards separately under its own chief.

Their road was by Mallow, Croom, and Abington, and O'Donnell's words came true, for 'they which did kiss them in their going forward, did both strip them, and shoot bullets at them on their return, and for their arms they did drown them and tread them down in every bog and soft place.'

200 perished in crossing the Blackwater, the Maigue, and the Mulkear.

Horseflesh was their only food, the wearied animals sinking with the wounded, who were left to their fate, or being killed by riders whom they could no longer carry.

The principal chiefs were borne in litters, and Tyrone arrived quite unexpectedly in Cavan, where he killed a few cows for his exhausted followers.

Not less than 3,000 men and 500 horses were believed to have been lost, besides all baggage, and the survivors were utterly demoralised.

'A troop of women,' said Carew, 'might have beaten Tyrone's army.'

[391] [Sidenote: Spaniards and Irish.

] [Sidenote: Kinsale capitulates.

] Bagenal's death was avenged, and his brother-in-law's military reputation destroyed.

Irish writers lay the chief blame on Don Juan d'Aguila, and yet he does not seem to have been the real cause of failure.

His constant sallies certainly betray no inactivity, and the failure of Tyrone to keep the appointed time is quite enough to account for his not making one at the critical moment.

His was the common fate of every Spaniard who had attempted to attack Elizabeth within the bounds of her hereditary possessions.

Spanish organisation had become thoroughly bad, while that of the English improved daily.

Mountjoy and Carew were good managers, but they were well seconded from home, and sometimes the Queen even anticipated their wants.

She felt that her work would be incomplete if she left Ireland unsubdued, and the strength of her last years was ungrudgingly spent in that work.

Don Juan saw that nothing could be made of an Irish alliance against such a Queen and such devoted servants.

It was clear that Kinsale could never be relieved but by fresh efforts in Spain, and he had seen what Irish storms and English sailors could do.

The town would be taken by assault, and the accompanying carnage would be of no service either to King or Pope.

For six days after the battle the siege operations were resumed and the approaches brought very near the walls, and on the seventh Don Juan sent out his drum-major and an officer bearing a letter.

He asked that a confidential messenger might be sent into the town to confer with him, an officer of like rank being given as surety for his safe return.

Sir William Godolphin was accordingly sent in, and Don Pedro Enriquez came out into the camp.

Don Juan told Godolphin that he had found the Irish weak and barbarous, and he could not be sure that they were not perfidious.

Mountjoy, on the contrary, he had found a sharp and powerful enemy, and, on the whole, he was ready to capitulate.

If fair conditions were not accorded, he would bury himself alive rather than yield.

He professed not to be urged by necessity, but by a just disdain and spleen conceived against the Irish.

Godolphin returned with his message, and on his second visit he was authorised to hold out hope of fair terms.

Mountjoy took care to say that he had the game in his own hands, as indeed he had, but he was anxious to save blood and to show her Majesty's clemency.

Where both sides wished for peace there could be little difficulty about arranging the terms.

Don Juan declared that he felt himself absolved from all engagements to the Irish.

His master had sent him to co-operate with the Condees O'Neill and O'Donnell, who had long delayed their coming; and when they did come they were shamefully defeated by a handful of men, and 'blown asunder into divers parts of the world.'

O'Neill had fled to Ulster, and O'Donnell to Spain, 'so as now,' he said, 'I find no such Condees _in rerum naturâ_ (for those were the very words he used) as I came to join withal, and therefore have moved this accord the rather to disengage the King, my master, from assisting a people so unable in themselves that the whole burden of the war must lie upon him, and so perfidious as perhaps might be induced in requital of his favour at last to betray him.'

[392] [Sidenote: Terms granted to the Spaniards.

] Both parties were eager for a settlement, for the loss by sickness had been great on the Queen's side; and the negotiations were short.

Don Juan undertook to surrender not only Kinsale, but also Castle Haven, Baltimore, and Dunboy.

Mountjoy contracted for the safe conveyance of all the Spaniards and their allies into Spain, and for their victualling and good treatment during the necessary interval.

The Spaniards were bound not to serve again against Queen Elizabeth until after they had been actually landed in Spain.

More than 3,000 officers and soldiers were embarked under the terms of this convention, besides many priests and monks, 'and a great company of Irish.'

The articles were signed on the 2nd of January, on the 3rd Don Juan dined with Mountjoy, and on the 4th a Spanish ship appeared off Kinsale.

A boat was sent out to say that the stranger might enter safely, for that Don John and the Lord Deputy were now very good friends.

The Spanish captain hauled the boat's crew on board and at once made sail, and thus the first news of the surrender of Kinsale was carried to Spain about five weeks later.

Another vessel with letters put into Berehaven, and the packet was sent up by land to Don Juan, who, with his principal officer, had accompanied Mountjoy to Cork.

Carew, with the latter's consent, had the messenger robbed on the road, but without hurting him.

Don Juan's suspicions were aroused, and he was not satisfied with the explanation given, but a proclamation was issued offering a reward for the discovery of the thieves.

Spanish dignity was saved and Mountjoy kept the letters, which were of great importance.

Large reinforcements were preparing in Spain, and the King wrote to say that he had heard of the defeat of Tyrone and O'Donnell, and that he nevertheless depended on Don Juan to maintain himself until help arrived.

Details of the intended aid were given in other letters, and it was probable that had the news come earlier Kinsale would not have fallen, or at least would have had to be taken by storm.

Carew had strongly urged that a golden bridge should be provided for a still formidable enemy, and the wisdom of this advice cannot be doubted.

[393] [Sidenote: O'Sullivan determines to defend Dunboy.

] Baltimore and Castle Haven were soon taken.

The Spaniards gave no trouble, but the O'Driscolls made some futile attempts at resistance.

At Berehaven the task was more serious.

The Spaniards had increased the natural strength of Dunboy Castle by throwing up earthworks, on which they had mounted three small cannon.

On hearing of the capitulation they were ready to surrender, but Donnell O'Sullivan refused to be bound by the articles.

Bringing 1,000 men quietly under the walls, he mastered the castle by surprise and forced the Spanish captain and some gunners to remain.

The other Spaniards were sent to Baltimore, and preparations were made for a desperate resistance.

O'Sullivan wrote an eloquent letter to Philip III.

, as to his sovereign lord, in which he denied Don Juan's right to surrender his castle, which alone protected his property and the people living along twenty leagues of coast.

He begged for help, and if help could not be given, then he asked that means might at least be provided to carry himself and his family to Spain.

[394] [Sidenote: Spanish ideas about Irish politics.

] Don Juan sailed on March 16. At Cork he lived familiarly with Carew, and presented him with a book on fortification as a keepsake.

The Irish in Spain brought so many charges against Don Juan that he was imprisoned, and he died soon afterwards under restraint.

He lived long enough to bring many counter-charges, and as late as 1618 there was a wretched Spanish sergeant in prison at Ghent, who believed that he owed his miseries to complaints made by Don Juan d'Aguila of his conduct at Kinsale.

The Spaniards were getting tired of war with England, in which they were nearly always worsted, and of alliances with the Irish, which had brought them nothing but loss.

Don Juan made direct advances to Mountjoy, and Captain Roger Harvey, Carew's nephew, had a curious conversation at Baltimore with Don Pedro de Soto, an officer of high rank, who thought there was no real reason why England and Spain should be at war.

King Philip, said this candid Spaniard, had indeed a great revenue, 'but the infinite number of garrisons which he is daily forced to maintain, would devour another such Indies, if he had them.'

If the Queen would only stand neutral in the Netherland quarrel, there might easily be peace between two great nations.

This conversation afterwards induced Carew to intrigue a little in Spain.

Nothing came directly of it, but Don Pedro's feelings were perhaps those of many in the peninsula, and the way was paved for a change as soon as Elizabeth was gone.

[395] [Sidenote: Importance of this siege.

] Excepting that of Londonderry, the siege of Kinsale is the most important in Irish history.

Spain was to Elizabeth what the French monarchy was to William III.

In both cases England headed the Protestant world against what threatened to become a European despotism.

In both cases Ireland was used by the dominant Catholic power to create a diversion, and not for her own sake.

The defeat of Tyrone and the subsequent surrender of Kinsale put an end to Spanish attempts on Ireland, as the breaking of the boom across the Foyle made French attempts virtually hopeless.

In both cases it became evident that whoever ruled in London must necessarily be supreme upon both sides of St. George's Channel.

D'Avaux, and even James II.

himself, had as little sympathy with the Irish as Juan d'Aguila.

[Sidenote: Reception of the news by Queen Elizabeth.

] The official account of the battle of Kinsale was sent over by Henry Danvers, and the Queen gave most gracious thanks to Mountjoy, as well as to Thomond and Clanricarde.

But Carew contrived that the first news should be brought to London by his friend Boyle, whose activity and good fortune were shown in a remarkable way.

'I left my Lord President,' he said, 'at Shandon Castle, near Cork, on Monday morning about two of the clock, and the next day delivered my packet, and supped with Sir Robert Cecil, being then principal Secretary, at his house in the Strand; who, after supper, held me in discourse till two of the clock in the morning, and by seven that morning called upon me to attend him to the court, where he presented me to her Majesty in her bedchamber; who remembered me, calling me by name, and giving me her hand to kiss, telling me that she was glad that I was the happy man to bring the first news of the glorious victory.

And after her Majesty had interrogated with me upon sundry questions very punctually, and that therein I gave her full satisfaction in every particular, she gave me again her hand to kiss, and commanded my despatch for Ireland, and so dismissed me with grace and favour.'

Boyle does not say by what route he made the journey from Cork to London in such a wonderfully short time; but the place of landing was probably Bristol.

With a south-west wind and a flood tide in the Avon the feat is possible;

but it is probably without a parallel.

And great must have been the endurance of the man who, after galloping from Bristol to London, sat up talking till two in the morning, and was on his feet again at seven.

The picture is a curious one, and it is interesting to note how this brilliant and successful man, writing more than thirty years afterwards and in the fulness of wealth and honours, is careful to record that he twice kissed Queen Elizabeth's hand.

[396] [Sidenote: Great cost of the war.

] The Queen was at first inclined to think the Spaniards had too easy terms, but declared herself satisfied when she had heard the whole story.

The expense of the war and the waste of English blood was terrible, and she would not deprive even Tyrone of hope.

He found means to make overtures very soon after the siege of Kinsale, and Cecil told Mountjoy privately that he did not think her inexorable, though the fear of being cajoled did not, as she wrote, 'permit her to hold any other way with the arch-traitor than the plain way of perdition.'

But the capitulation had been granted 'to save the blood of her subjects, dearer to her than revenge or glory,' and the same consideration prevented her from driving Tyrone to desperation.

In the meantime the army was to be reduced, and the rebellion extinguished in detail.

Carew accompanied Mountjoy to Waterford and Kilkenny, whence he returned into Munster.

The Lord Deputy went on to Dublin, where he lay inactive for some weeks, completely disabled by the hardships of the late siege.

[397] FOOTNOTES:

[379] Carew to the Privy Council, Aug.

6, 1601; Cecil to Carew, Sept.

5--both in _Carew_.

'For Desmond (James Fitzthomas),' says Cecil, 'I find him more discreet than I have heard of him, and for Florence the same which I ever expected, which is a malicious, vain fool.'

--_Pacata Hibernia_, lib.

ii.

cap.

6. [380] Journal in _Carew_, No. 198; _Pacata Hibernia_, cap.

10; Carew to the Privy Council, Sept.

14. [381] _Pacata Hibernia_, caps.

9, 10, and 11. The Spanish ships are described as fifty, forty-five, and thirty-five.

The latter number probably came to Kinsale with Don Juan.

Storms and accidents account for the rest.

Small vessels had been purposely chosen, with a view to the Irish harbours.

[382] _Pacata Hibernia_, caps.

10 and 11; Warrants in _Carew_, Sept.

28. [383] _Pacata Hibernia_, cap.

13; Fynes Moryson, part ii.

book ii.

chap.

ii.

; Journal in _Carew_ (No. 199) Oct.

29 to Nov.

1. [384] Journal in _Carew_, Nos.

199 and 200; _Four Masters_, 1601;

Docwra's _Narration_, p. 257. Castle Park fell on Nov.

20. [385] _Four Masters_, 1601; _Pacata Hibernia_, cap.

14; Journal in _Carew_, No. 200; Carew to Mountjoy, Nov.

22. Carew returned to the camp on Nov.

26. [386] Journal in _Carew_ (No. 200) Nov.

29 to Dec.

9 _Pacata Hibernia_ caps.

17, 18, and 19; Cecil to Carew, Feb.

9, 1602. [387] Journal in _Carew_ (Nos.

200 and 201) Dec.

7-20; Letters of Don Juan d'Aguila, Dec.

10/28, in _Pacata Hibernia_; Fenton to the Queen, Dec.

4, printed in the _Ulster Journal of Archæology_, vi.

p. 64. [388] _Pacata Hibernia_, caps.

15 and 18; _Four Masters_, 1601. [389] Journal in _Carew_ (No. 201) Dec.

21-3; _Pacata Hibernia_, cap.

21; Moryson.

The _Four Masters_ and O'Sullivan both say the English were on their guard, and the former note the report of treachery, but without giving MacMahon's name.

[390] Mountjoy's report is in _Carew_ (No. 201).

His private secretary, Fynes Moryson, the historian, was present.

Carew's account is in _Pacata Hibernia_.

The _Four Masters_ and O'Sullivan Bere are to be preferred for the movements of the Irish, and the latter may have learned some particulars from his uncle.

See also Sir H. Power (who commanded the flying column) to Cecil, Dec.

27. [391] _Four Masters_, 1602; Lord Deputy and Council to the Privy Council, Jan.

14; Carew to same, Jan.

; Sir F. Stafford to Cecil (from Newry) Jan.

14; Clanricarde to Cecil (from Cork) Jan.

15. 'The rebels are utterly forsaken of all aid from the Spaniards, and not able to make any head.

O'Donnell is made away for Spain, as we think.

I do not think we have lost fewer than 3,000 men; by fights and hurts not above 300, all the rest by sickness.'

Captain A. Enfield, R. N.

, to Fulke Greville, Jan.

6, in 12th Report of Historical MSS.

Commission--_Coke MSS.

_ [392] A short relation of the siege of Kinsale in _Carew_ (No. 202) signed by Mountjoy, Carew, and others.

O'Sullivan and others say the English outnumbered Tyrone's forces.

It is true that the Irish made no general or united effort, but only a small section of Mountjoy's army was actually engaged.

Moryson, who was present, says the former were 6,000 foot and 500 horse, the latter barely 1,200 and 400. [393] Translations of the letters from the Duke of Lerma and others are in _Pacata Hibernia_, ii.

chap.

xxvi.

, the terms of capitulation (Jan.

2, 1602) in chap.

xxiii.

See Carew to the Privy Council, Jan.

[394] Letters to the King of Spain and the Governor of Galicia in _Pacata Hibernia_, ii.

chap.

xxviii.

[395] _Pacata Hibernia_, ii.

chap.

xxix.

and iii.

chap.

xiii.

Don Pedro de Heredia to Lord Carew, April 1, 1618, and the answer, Oct.

21, both in _Carew_.

Don Juan's peaceful proposals are mentioned by Moryson.

[396] The Queen to Mountjoy, Jan.

12, in Moryson; the Earl of Cork's _True Remembrances_.

[397] The Queen to Mountjoy, Feb.

8 1601; Cecil to Mountjoy, received July 8, both in _Moryson_.

CHAPTER LII. THE END OF THE REIGN, 1602-1603.