Battle of Ballynahinch facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Battle of Ballynahinch
Part of the Irish Rebellion of 1798
A painting of the battle
Date 12–13 June 1798 Location Ballynahinch, County Down Result British victory
Belligerents
Ireland  Great Britain	United Irishmen
Commanders and leaders
George Nugent	Henry Munro
Strength
~2,000	~4,000
Casualties and losses
3 killed ~30 wounded	100-500 killed

The battle of Ballynahinch was a military engagement of the Irish Rebellion of 1798 between a force of roughly 4,000 United Irishmen rebels led by Henry Munro and approximately 2,000 government troops under the command of George Nugent. After rebel forces had occupied Newtownards on 9 June, they gathered the next day in the surrounding countryside and elected Munro as their leader, who occupied Ballyhinch on 11 June. Nugent led a column of government troops in 12 June which recaptured the town and bombarded rebel positions. On the next day, the rebels attacked Ballyhinch, but were driven back and defeated.

Background

In County Down, the Irish Rebellion of 1798 by the Society of United Irishmen had faltered after the arrest of William Steel Dickson on 5 June 1798. Several rebel commanders, many of whom were Presbyterian, managed to briefly revive the rebellion's momentum. A rebel force led by David Bailie Warden attacked Newtownards on 9 June, which was garrisoned by a detachment of the York Fencibles. Fencibles stationed in the Market House managed to drive off Warden's rebels but subsequently withdrew, allowing rebel commanders to establish a revolutionary government modelled after the French Committee of Public Safety. On the same day, rebel forces managed to capture Saintfield after defeating its garrison.

In response, British commander George Nugent withdrew most of his forces from military outposts in the eastern region of the county, allowing rebels forces to amass in the centre of the county. Approximately 4,000 rebels from Newtownards, Saintfield and Ballynahinch, equipped with artillery looted from Bangor harbour, gathered in one spot on 10 June and listened to a sermon given by Thomas Ledlie Birch. On the next day, they elected a linen draper from Lisburn, Henry Munro, as the their commander. Munro ordered his forces to occupy Ballynahinch on 11 June before establishing a camp at Montalto, the County Down estate of the Earl of Moira.

Battle

On the morning of 12 June, Nugent, with a column of roughly 2,000 government soldiers (drawn from the Monaghan Militia, Fifeshire Fencibles and the 22nd Dragoons) and six 6-pounder guns and two howitzers manned by the Royal Artillery, marched onto Saintfield, where it was discovered to have no rebel presence. Nugent's column, which was reinforced by detachments of the Argyll Fencibles and Downpatrick Yeomanry, moved onto Ballynahinch, where his men captured a rebel outpost before occupying the town. As the night began to set in, Nugent's artillery forces began to bombard Montalto and the nearby Ednavady Hill. Numerous rebels, many of them demoralised by the bombardment, slipped away under the cover of darkness.

..... However, Munro overruled them, insisting that any rebel attack on Ballynahinch occur at dawn. When dawn came, Munro's rebels attacked the town, driving back the Monaghan Militia in house-to-house combat along with killing the militia's adjutant and capturing several artillery pieces. However, the attacking rebels mistook bugle calls to retreat from government troops as a signal for arriving reinforcements and began to waver. In response, a counter-attack was ordered by Nugent's officers, which led many of the rebels to retreat from Ballynahinch in all directions. Nugent's dragoons and yeomanry pursued the rebels, many of whom were killed or captured; one of the rebels killed was camp follower Betsy Gray. Despite Nugent ordering his cavalry to "be merciful", infuriated dragoons and yeomanry killed several noncombatants in the post-battle reprisals.

Aftermath

Nugent reported that his troops had killed 500 rebels, but local estimates claimed that only 100 rebels had died. On the government side, it was reported that 3 were killed and roughly 30 wounded. The battle was followed by "harsh retribution". Monro was executed by hanging on 16 June after being captured, a fate he shared with many fellow rebel prisoners. ..... After the battle, residents of Ballynahinch who had fled the town when the rebels occupied it began to return, wearing white headbands and calling themselves the "Supplementary Yeomanry"; these people also looted the damaged town.