Battle of the Boyne Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids

Battle of the Boyne

Painting of the battle by Jan Wyck c. 1693

Date	1 July 1690 O.S.
Location	Oldbridge, County Meath, Ireland 53°43′23″N 6°25′01″W / 53.723°N 6.417°W / 53.723; -6.417 (battle site)
Result	Williamite victory

Belligerents

Jacobite forces

France

Williamite forces

Dutch Republic

Danish Auxiliary Corps

Commanders and leaders

James VII and II
Earl of Tyrconnell
Duc de Lauzun
James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick

William III
Duke of Schomberg †

Strength

23,500

36,000

Casualties and losses

~1,500 casualties

~750 casualties

The Battle of the Boyne was a battle in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II of England and Ireland, VII of Scotland 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 in 1689. The battle took place 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 October 1691, James fled to France after the Boyne, never to return. The symbolic importance of this battle has made it one of the best-known battles in the history of the British Isles and a key part of the folklore of the Orange Order. Its commemoration today is principally by the Orange Order, which records the first commemorative parades as having been held in 1791.

Images for kids

James II, King of England and Ireland, James VII of Scotland, 1685–1688, portrayed as head of the army c.1685)
William III ("William of Orange"), King of England, Scotland and Ireland, 1689–1702, Stadtholder in the Netherlands, 1672–1702
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. Rosnaree
The Battle of the Boyne, painted by Benjamin West in 1778
River Boyne at Oldbridge in 2011
Statue of William of Orange on College Green, in Dublin, erected in 1701. It was destroyed in 1929.
View of the commemorative Boyne Obelisk prior to 1883 (erected in 1736). It was destroyed in 1923.
Medal struck to commemorate the Battle of the Boyne (Robert Chambers, p. 8, July 1832)

Battle of the Boyne facts for kids

Images for kids

See also