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Article THE BATTLE OF THE BOYNE. ← Page 7 of 8 →
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The Battle Of The Boyne.
One of his own troopers , mistaking him for an enenrry , presented a pistol to his head ; William calmly put it by , "Avhat , " said he , " do not you know your friends ' . " The presence of such a prince gave double vigour to his soldiers . The Irish infantry were finall y ; repulsed . Hamilton made ' one desperate effort to turn the fortune of the dayat the head of his horse . Their shock was furiousbut
, , neither orderly nor steady . They were routed , and their general conveyed a prisoner to William . The king asked him whether the Irish would fight more . "Upon my honour , " said Hamilton , "I " believe they will ; for they have yet a good body of horse . " William surveyed the man who had betrayed him in his transactions with Tyrconnel , and in a sullen and contemp tuous tone exclaimed , "
Honour ! your honour ' . " Nor was this asseveration of Hamilton , well grounded . The right wing of William ' s army had , by this time , forced their way through difficult grounds , and pursued the enemy close to Duleek . Lauzun rOde up ° to James , who still continued at Donore , advising him to retreat immediately , as he was in danger of being surrounded . He marched to Duleek at the head of Sarsefield's regiment ; his armyfollowed , and poured through the pass , not without some annoyance from a party of English dragoons , which theymig ht easily have cut
to pieces , had they not been solely intent on flying . When they reached the open ground , they drew up , and cannonaded their pursuers . Their officers ordered all things for a retreat , which they made in such order as was commended by their enemies . Their loss in this engagement was computed at fifteen hundred ; that , of William ' s army scarcely amounted to one third of this number .
" Here was a final period of James ' s Irish royalty . He arrived at Dublin in great disorder , and damped the joy of his friends , who , at the intelligence of William ' s death , every moment expected to receive him in triumph . He assembled the popish magistrates and council of the city ; he told them , that in England his army had deserted him ; in Ireland they had fled in the hour of danger , nor could be persuaded
to rail }' , though their loss was inconsiderable ; both he and they must therefore shift for themselves . It had been deliberated whether , in case of such a misfortune , Dublin should not be set on fire ; but on their allegiance he charged them to commit no such barbarous outrage , which must reflect dishonour on him , and irritate the conqueror . He was obligedhe saidto ield to forcebut would never cease to
, , y , labour for their deliverance ; too much blood had been already shed , and Providence seemed to declare against him ; he , therefore , advised them to set their prisoners at liberty , and submit to the Prince of Orange , who was merciful .
The reflection on ' the courage of his Irish troops was ungracious , and provoked their officers to retort it on the king . They contended , that in the whole of the engagement , their men , though not animated by a princely leader , had taken no inglorious part . They observed , that while William shared the danger of his army , encouraging them by his " presence , by his voice , by his example , James
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Battle Of The Boyne.
One of his own troopers , mistaking him for an enenrry , presented a pistol to his head ; William calmly put it by , "Avhat , " said he , " do not you know your friends ' . " The presence of such a prince gave double vigour to his soldiers . The Irish infantry were finall y ; repulsed . Hamilton made ' one desperate effort to turn the fortune of the dayat the head of his horse . Their shock was furiousbut
, , neither orderly nor steady . They were routed , and their general conveyed a prisoner to William . The king asked him whether the Irish would fight more . "Upon my honour , " said Hamilton , "I " believe they will ; for they have yet a good body of horse . " William surveyed the man who had betrayed him in his transactions with Tyrconnel , and in a sullen and contemp tuous tone exclaimed , "
Honour ! your honour ' . " Nor was this asseveration of Hamilton , well grounded . The right wing of William ' s army had , by this time , forced their way through difficult grounds , and pursued the enemy close to Duleek . Lauzun rOde up ° to James , who still continued at Donore , advising him to retreat immediately , as he was in danger of being surrounded . He marched to Duleek at the head of Sarsefield's regiment ; his armyfollowed , and poured through the pass , not without some annoyance from a party of English dragoons , which theymig ht easily have cut
to pieces , had they not been solely intent on flying . When they reached the open ground , they drew up , and cannonaded their pursuers . Their officers ordered all things for a retreat , which they made in such order as was commended by their enemies . Their loss in this engagement was computed at fifteen hundred ; that , of William ' s army scarcely amounted to one third of this number .
" Here was a final period of James ' s Irish royalty . He arrived at Dublin in great disorder , and damped the joy of his friends , who , at the intelligence of William ' s death , every moment expected to receive him in triumph . He assembled the popish magistrates and council of the city ; he told them , that in England his army had deserted him ; in Ireland they had fled in the hour of danger , nor could be persuaded
to rail }' , though their loss was inconsiderable ; both he and they must therefore shift for themselves . It had been deliberated whether , in case of such a misfortune , Dublin should not be set on fire ; but on their allegiance he charged them to commit no such barbarous outrage , which must reflect dishonour on him , and irritate the conqueror . He was obligedhe saidto ield to forcebut would never cease to
, , y , labour for their deliverance ; too much blood had been already shed , and Providence seemed to declare against him ; he , therefore , advised them to set their prisoners at liberty , and submit to the Prince of Orange , who was merciful .
The reflection on ' the courage of his Irish troops was ungracious , and provoked their officers to retort it on the king . They contended , that in the whole of the engagement , their men , though not animated by a princely leader , had taken no inglorious part . They observed , that while William shared the danger of his army , encouraging them by his " presence , by his voice , by his example , James