Siege of Duncannon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Siege of Duncannon
Part of the Irish Confederate Wars
Date 20 January - 18 March 1645 (58 days) Location Duncannon, County Wexford Result Confederate victory
Belligerents
Irish Confederates	English Parliamentarians
Commanders and leaders
Viscount Tara	Baron Esmonde
Strength
1,300 men, 1 mortar, 4 cannon	200 men, 18 cannon, 4-7 ships
Casualties and losses
67 dead	27 killed in the town Flagship Great Lewis sunk, crew and 200 soldiers drowned

The Siege of Duncannon happened in 1645 during the Irish Confederate Wars. An Irish Catholic army, led by Thomas Preston, attacked and captured the town of Duncannon in County Wexford. The town was held by English Parliamentarian soldiers. This siege was important because it was the first time mortars were used in a battle in Ireland.

Why Duncannon Was Attacked

The Start of the Conflict

When the Irish Rebellion of 1641 began, most of southeastern Ireland was taken over by Catholic rebels. About 1,000 rebels tried to block Duncannon. The town was strongly built and had about 300 English soldiers.

About 150 English soldiers died fighting the Irish near Redmond's Hall. But the rebels did not have big cannons or much experience attacking forts. So, they could not capture Duncannon at that time.

Fighting Continues

Fighting went on through 1642. The Irish, now called the Irish Confederacy, raided the areas around Duncannon. The conflict was very harsh. In one event, Lord Esmonde, the English commander, hanged 16 Irish prisoners. In return, the Irish executed 18 English prisoners.

In 1643, King Charles I needed his soldiers to fight in the English Civil War. So, he agreed to a ceasefire with the Irish Confederates. This stopped the fighting between Duncannon and the Catholic areas nearby.

Commander Esmonde Changes Sides

However, in 1644, the English soldiers in Cork, led by Lord Inchiquin, decided to support the English Parliament. They were unhappy with the king's truce with the Irish.

Lord Esmonde, under pressure from his own soldiers, also switched to the Parliament's side. This meant he started fighting the Catholic Confederates again. We don't know exactly why he changed sides. He was a Protestant, but his family had been Catholic. He also owed his position to the King.

Why Duncannon Was Important

Duncannon was a very important town for two main reasons. First, it had strong defenses. Second, and more importantly, its cannons overlooked the sea route to Waterford and New Ross. These were two major Catholic-held towns and ports. The Confederates used these ports to get military help from Catholic countries in Europe.

The Confederates needed to keep this sea route open. They also worried about having an English army deep inside their territory. So, the Confederate leaders in Kilkenny sent Thomas Preston to capture Duncannon in January 1645.

Preston had 1,300 soldiers, four cannons, and a mortar. The mortar was new to Ireland. Spain had given it to the Confederates the year before. A French engineer named Nicholas La Loue was in charge of the mortar. He had worked with Preston before and was the chief engineer for the Confederate army.

The Siege of Duncannon Begins

Strong Defenses and Weaknesses

Duncannon had very strong defenses. It was on a peninsula, meaning it was surrounded by sea on three sides. You could only approach it from the north. Four Parliamentarian ships were docked nearby, bringing food and more soldiers to Duncannon.

The town also had two lines of walls. The outer wall was a newer, lower defense with a dry ditch. The inner wall was an old medieval wall with three towers.

However, Duncannon had two big weaknesses. First, a hill to the north overlooked the town. Attackers could fire down into the town from there. Second, the town's water supply was outside its walls.

The Attack on Duncannon

Preston arrived at Duncannon on January 20. His soldiers dug trenches to cut off Duncannon from the land. From the hill overlooking the town, his cannons fired at the Parliamentarian ships. These ships were supplying Duncannon.

The main ship, the Great Louis, was badly hit. Its mast was broken by cannon fire. It took more hits from the mortar as it tried to escape. The ship sank in deep water. Its crew and 200 soldiers on board drowned.

Breaking Through the Walls

After cutting off Duncannon's sea supply, Preston's soldiers began digging tunnels closer to the walls. Their goal was to get cannons close enough to blast a hole in the walls. This would allow them to attack. His engineers also dug a mine under one of the town's strong points.

All this time, the town's defenders were under constant attack from the mortar and from sharpshooters. On March 12, a sniper shot and killed Captain Lurcan, the fort's second-in-command. He was hit in the head.

On March 16, the Irish trenches were very close to the walls. Preston ordered the mine to be blown up. This created a hole in Duncannon's outer walls. The Irish soldiers then attacked, but they were pushed back.

The next day, St Patricks Day, Preston tried again. This time, his troops captured the outer walls. But they were stopped at Duncannon's inner, older walls. They managed to hold one of the town's towers for an hour before being forced back. A Confederate politician named Geoffrey Barron wrote that 24 Irish soldiers died in these two attacks.

The Surrender of Duncannon

A Difficult Choice

At this point, Preston told Esmonde to surrender. He warned that if the town had to be taken by force, the defenders would face harsh consequences. This was a common threat in sieges back then.

Esmonde was also advised to surrender by William Smith, a Parliamentarian naval officer. Smith was offshore with seven ships, but he could not break through to help the town. In a letter on March 11, Smith had warned Esmonde that if the rebels took the fort by storm, they would likely kill everyone. Esmonde read Smith's letter to his soldiers after the attacks to convince them to give up.

Besides the risk of being killed, the English soldiers were also very low on gunpowder and water. The town's only fresh water well was now behind the Confederate lines.

Duncannon Falls

Because of these problems, Esmonde officially surrendered Duncannon to Preston on March 18. The Confederates took control of the town. However, the English soldiers were allowed to march away to Youghal, which was held by Protestants. They had to leave behind the town's 18 cannons.

Esmonde himself died a few days after the siege ended. Preston then tried to attack Youghal, but bad weather, lack of supplies, and disagreements with another general stopped his campaign for the winter.

The siege was important because it reopened the sea route to Waterford. It also removed an enemy army from Confederate land. Preston was very skilled in siege warfare, having been a military governor in Spain. He was praised for taking the town with relatively few losses. Only 67 Confederate soldiers died, and about 30 of those died from sickness. This was a great achievement, especially since the battle happened in winter when disease often killed more soldiers than fighting.

The Great Lewis, the Parliamentarian ship that sank during the siege, was found again in 1999 and brought up in 2004.

Later Sieges of Duncannon

Duncannon was attacked again during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. This was part of the Siege of Waterford. Duncannon managed to defend itself against Oliver Cromwell in 1649. But it surrendered in 1650 after a long blockade by Henry Ireton.