Drogheda lies along the River Boyne about 4 miles (6.5 km) from its mouth. Our latest episode for parents features the topic of empathy. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. [22] There was a drawbridge that would have stopped the attackers reaching the northern part of the town, but the defenders had no time to pull it up behind them and the killing continued in the northern part of Drogheda. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Irish clerical sources in the 1660s claimed that 4,000 civilians had died at Drogheda, denouncing the sack as "unparalleled savagery and treachery beyond any slaughterhouse". Simon Adams is a historian and writer living and working in London. Cromwell listed the dead as including "many inhabitants" of Drogheda in his report to Parliament. In 1648, the Irish Confederates allied themselves with the English Royalists to oppose the English Parliamentarians. [21], After breaking into the town the Parliamentarian soldiers pursued the defenders through the streets and into private properties, sacking churches and defensible positions as they went. I am persuaded that this is a righteous judgement of God on these barbarous wretches, who have imbrued their hands with so much innocent blood; and that it will tend to prevent the effusion of blood for the future, which are satisfactory grounds for such actions which cannot otherwise but work remorse and regret. They then broke into the house firing their weapons, but were stopped from killing those inside when an officer known to Bernard identified them as Protestants. With his New Model Army, Oliver Cromwell landed in Ireland in August 1649 to re-conquer the country on behalf of the English Parliament. [18] In Cromwell's words, "In the heat of the action, I forbade them [his soldiers] to spare any that were in arms in the town...and, that night they put to the sword about two thousand men". The defeat of the Irish Royalists at Rathmines in early August was fortuitous for Cromwell, for without it, the English would have held only the small port of Derry (known as Londonderry from 1662) in the north, making his invasion almost impossible to effect. Those that did, are in safe custody for the Barbadoes". Siege of Drogheda. [8] His total force was about 12,000 men and eleven heavy, 48-pounder, siege artillery pieces. [9] Drogheda's defences consisted of mediaeval curtain walls. The first Siege of Drogheda took place in 1641-42, during the Irish Rebellion of 1641. The death of their commander, Colonel Wall, caused them to fall back, allowing further Parliamentary reinforcements to be funneled into the breach. [24] Cromwell was wary of trying to storm the fort, which he described as "a place very strong, and of difficult access, being exceeding high, having a good graft, and strongly palisaded". The first Siege of Drogheda took place in 1641-42, during the Irish Rebellion of 1641. The final major concentration of Royalist soldiers was a group of 200 men who had retreated into two towers: the West Gate and a round tower next the West Gate called St. Sunday's. By the time Cromwell had put down the rebellion and returned to England in that same month, he had become forever hated by Irish Catholics. He used ships to block the harbour, and had troops stationed at vulnerable points in the city's walled defences.  An onslought of artillery created two breaches in the walls. [18], According to Axtell, the disarmed men were then taken to a windmill and killed about an hour after they had surrendered. [29] Any Catholic clergy found within the town were clubbed to death—or "knocked on the head" as Cromwell put it[30]—including two who were executed the following day. [8] His total force was around 12,000 men and eleven heavy, 48-pounder, siege artillery pieces. The town was protected by a circuit of walls four to six feet wide and twenty… His merciless policy toward the Irish Royalists would become brutally clear within a month. STUDY. On 15 August Oliver Cromwell and 15,000 troops landed in Dublin.His merciless policy toward the Irish Royalists would become brutally clear within a month. Wikisource has several original texts related to: Artillery: One master gunner, two gunners and thee gunners mates. English Parliamentarians take the town and massacre the garrison. The carnage inside the city was appalling. [37] He was shot on leaving the room. Cromwell arrived at Drogheda on 3 September and his siege guns, brought up by sea, arrived … [lower-alpha 4], The week after the storming of Drogheda, the Royalist press in England claimed that 2,000 of the 3,000 dead were civilians—a theme that was taken up both in English Royalist and in Irish Catholic accounts. [38], It is not clear how many civilians died in the sack of Drogheda. Elizabeth did not fare well in her first marriage. [45] However, other historians have argued that, while, "Arthur Aston had refused a summons to surrender, thereby technically forfeiting the lives of the garrison in the event of a successful assault ... the sheer scale of the killing [at Drogheda] was simply unprecedented". [31], Cromwell wrote on 16 September 1649: "I believe we put to the sword the whole number of the defendants. All three attempts failed and the town was ultimately relieved by English forces. 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