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Trouble in Fermanagh - The
Siege of Enniskillen - The Ford of Biscuits - Fitz William resigns -
Appointment of Sir William Russell - Tyrone appears before Special
Commissioners - Elizabeth and Tyrone - Bagenal accuses Tyrone of
Disloyalty - Tyrone challenges Bagenal - State Papers on Tyrone.
The campaign against
Maguire of Fermanagh was carried on vigorously, boats being launched upon
Lough Erne, so that the defeated chieftain, all through the winter of
1593, was hunted like some wild animal, from island to island. Early in
the year following, Fitzwilliam was again in Fermanagh, took the town of
Enniskillen, and, having placed an English garrison there, returned to
Dublin. Scarcely had he departed when Hugh Roe, who had been appealed to
by Maguire, throwing off all semblance of allegiance, led an army to his
aid, besieged the English garrison in Enniskillen, and plundered all in
the surrounding district who lived under English jurisdiction. FitzWilliam
commanded the gentlemen of the Pale, with O'Reilly and Bingham, to
revictual the fort of Enniskillen, where the garrison had already begun to
suffer severely from hunger. The force collected for this purpose was
placed under the command of Sir Edward Herbert, Sir Henry Duke, and George
Bingham. Maguire, with such men as had been left with him by O'Donnell,
and Cormac O'Neill, brother of the Earl of Tyrone, set out to intercept
them. The presence of Cormac is explained by O'Sullivan Beare, who tells
us that O'Donnell, on hearing that a force was about to march to relieve
Enniskillen, sent word to the Earl of Tyrone that he would regard him as
an enemy unless he lent his aid at such a juncture. Tyrone was convinced
that a rebellion at that moment, before the appearance of the expected aid
from Spain, would rashly imperil the cause he had at heart, yet he also
knew that he gained little by holding aloof himself, as he was already an
object of suspicion to the English Government. He was perplexed how to
act, but the matter seems to have been compromised by the departure of his
brother, Cormac, with a contingent of 100 horse and 300 disciplined
musketeers to join Maguire, at the same time that it did not appear
whether they were sent by Tyrone or went spontaneously. Authorities differ
as to the composition of the army sent to relieve Enniskillen, O'Sullivan
stating that it comprised 400 horse and over 2000 foot; whereas Cox makes
it 46 horse and 600 foot. The hostile armies met at a ford about five
miles from Enniskillen, where a fierce battle was fought, resulting in a
rout of the English forces, with the slaughter, according to O'Sullivan,
of 400 of their men. All the provisions intended for the beleaguered
fortress, consisting largely of biscuits, were taken, in consequence of
which the place was called Bel-atha-nam-Briosgadh, or the Ford of
Biscuits. As soon as the news of the defeat reached Enniskillen the
garrison capitulated and were suffered by Maguire to depart in safety. The
victorious Irish left a sufficient garrison at Enniskillen and marched
into northern Connaught, where Sir Richard Bingham was. They laid waste
all the English settlements, and slew every male from the age of fifteen
to sixty whom they found could not speak Irish, so that no Englishman
remained in the country except in a few fortified towns and castles; and
O'Sullivan gives as a reason for the severe measures taken on this
occasion by the Irish that they were inflamed with a desire to retaliate
on the English for their cruel treatment of old men, women, and children,
whom they had hurled from the bridge of Enniskillen when the town fell
into their hands.
FitzWilliam's health had
been failing for some time. Constant wars and rumours of war did not
render the post of Lord Deputy congenial to one who was not a professional
soldier. He had now reached the period of life when peace and quietness
are appreciated, being on the borders of the Psalmist's limit of three
score years and ten. "I am", he wrote, "upon the pitch of sixty-nine years
old, my body is weak, my stomach weaker, the stone doth oft torment me,
and now the gout hath utterly lamed me in my leg. My sight and memory do
both fail me, so that I am less than half a man." He was directed to
appoint Lords Justices, if necessary, and await the arrival of his
successor.
The new Lord Deputy was Sir
William Russell, fourth son of Francis, Earl of Bedford, who had served
with credit in Holland, was by Sidney's side when he received his
deathwound, and succeeded him as governor of Flushing. Fitz-William did
not find it necessary to appoint Lords Justices, but he was unable to
leave Dublin, and negotiations with Tyrone were referred to commissioners.
The Earl, whose loyalty had of late become more dubious than ever, made
his appearance unexpectedly in Dublin a few weeks after the instalment of
Russell, to whom the Queen had written on the 3rd of May, 1594, referring
to letters of Tyrone, "exhibiting in writing sundry griefs and wrongs done
to him by the then Deputy and Marshal, and yielding his oath and writing
to continue a loyal and obedient servant". "Thereupon", wrote Elizabeth,
we commanded our Commissioners to let him understand that we were resolved
to revoke Sir Wm. Fitzwilliam from the office, and that the Marshal should
nowise attempt anything against the Earl and his people. Should these
measures fail to bring Ulster to good obedience, you are to use your
authority with our Council, and the aid of the forces, to procure redress;
and we will send you some augmentation of forces."
No one anticipated that
Tyrone would appear in Dublin, for he, knowing that in his position he
could not be safe, had remained away from the Council. He, however,
arrived suddenly, as if acting upon the Queen's letters, and on the I3th
August, 1594, had a submission to the new Lord Deputy. In this document he
acknowledged his fault in absenting himself from the Council, but
attributed it to his apprehension of violence from the ex- Lord Deputy. He
complained of the unworthy suspicions entertained against him, and in
vindication of himself appealed to the many services which he had rendered
to the Government, more especially to that which he had so lately
performed against Maguire, and in which he had received a serious wound.
"Her Majesty's displeasure", he wrote, "has been my greatest grief, for
she it was who advanced me to high title and great living; and I know that
Her Majesty, who by grace has advanced me, by force may pluck me down. How
can it be then that I should be so void of reason as to work my own ruin?
I confess I am not clear of offence; but I have done what I have done to
save my life; nevertheless I am sorry for my fault. I here offer my
services, either in relieving the distressed ward at Iniskyllen, expulsing
the Scots, or doing anything else."
Russell seems to have been
inclined to accept his plea of justification, but Tyrone's old enemy,
Bagenal, renewed his charges of his treason against him with redoubled
energy. He asserted that the Earl had entertained the late Archbishop
MacGauran, knowing him to be a traitor; that he corresponded with
O'Donnell Roe while the latter was levying war against the Queen; that,
being allowed to keep six companies in the Queen's service, he had
contrived, by constantly changing them, to discipline to arms all the men
in the Province; and that, under the pretence of building a castle for
himself in the English fashion, he had purchased a large quantity of lead,
which he kept stored up at Dungannon as material from which to make
bullets.
Several questions were put
to the Earl by the Council, all of which he answered in a most
satisfactory manner, whereupon the Council, notwithstanding Bagenal's
charges, resolved "that, for weighty considerations concerning Her
Majesty's service, the Earl should not be charged with the said articles
at that time, but to be deferred to a more fit time".
This course of action made
Elizabeth very angry. "We can no longer forbear to let you know", she
wrote on the 3ist of October, "what great mischief the remiss and weak
proceedings of late have wrought in that kingdom. Since first the Earl of
Tyrone began to affect superiority over such principal persons as (before
we advanced him) daily bearded him, we did ever lay before you seriously
the prevention of such inconveniences. It is gross to find such a man so
laid open to you all, and made suspicious by his own actions, had been
suffered to grow to this head by your receiving his excuses and
subterfuges. When he came to the late Deputy at Dublin, and was
substantially charged, he was dismissed. When he came to Dundalk to you,
the Chancellor, and the Chief Justice, where many things were apparently
proved, he was discharged with triumph to his own partakers, and with a
general discouragement to all those that (for our service) had opposed
themselves against him. For amends whereof, when voluntarily he came to
you, the Deputy, it was overruled by you, the Council, to dismiss him,
though dangerous accusations were offered against him. This was as foul an
oversight as ever was committed in that kingdom. The nature of treasons
are secret, and not to be proved, for the most part, but by presumptions.
He coming in of purpose to offer personal purgation, with great reason you
might have stayed him till proofs had been made, or kept him in suspense
upon his trial until you had received our pleasure. You alleged that you
thought it perilous; but he or his could hot have any way prejudiced your
or our estate, and none of his durst have stirred while he was in
restraint. It was a great oversight in you of the Council there, when the
Earl was first so probably charged, to dismiss him so slenderly upon his
denials. Our commandments to you in private for his stay ought otherwise
have guided you.
Tyrone turned the tables on
those who accused him of disloyalty by bringing counter-charges of bribery
and corruption against FitzWilliam, and of complicity against Bagenal, who
had, he said, bribed the ex-Deputy with money extorted from the people
under him. As to the settlement of Monaghan, he said that "every peddling
merchant and other men of no account had a share of the land; and the
Marshal (who never took pains in bringing of that country to subjection)
had a great part of it. The Earl showed his contempt of the malignity of
Bagenal by offering to prove the injustice of his charges by the ordeal of
single combat, but the Knight Marshal (who had after an action, as already
stated, asked Tyrone to praise his valour to the Queen) declined the
offer.
The probable and impending
rebellion of Tyrone exercised the minds of English statesmen not a little.
"If his purpose is to rebel," says a State paper, "it must proceed either
with a combination from Spain (which may be suspected as well in regard
that he is of the Romish Church, as also heretofore, for viva voce by Hugh
Gavelock, one of Shane O'Neill*s sons, to his face he hath been accused to
have a Spanish heart), or else an ancient Irish practice to hinder the
proceeding of English justice, which of late hath crept further into
Ulster than accustomed. His rebellion will be the more dangerous, and cost
the Queen more crowns than any that have foregone him since Her Majesty's
reign; for, educated, more disciplined, and naturally valiant, he is
worthily reputed the best man of war of his nation. Most of his followers
are well-trained soldiers, using our weapons; and he is the greatest man
of territory and revenue within that kingdom, and is absolute commander of
the North of Ireland.
"If he have plotted with
Spain to pull the crown from the Queen's head for combining with foreign
power has no other pretence then assuredly Scotland is made a party to
assist them; and Sir William Stanley, and other English and Irish
traitors, are like to be employed in the action. The way for them most to
annoy us is to put into St. George's Channel, and not to let fall an
anchor until they come to the entrance of the haven of Dublin, where they
may unship their men, and ride safely in all weathers. The lesser ships
may safely pass the bar of Dublin, and land where they list. But if his,
the Earl's, purpose reach no farther than ordinary rebellions in Ireland,
which ever more arise either upon dislike of the person of someone that
doth govern and administer justice, or else to justice itself, with both
the which it appeareth that this Earl doth find himself grieved, then I
dare the more boldly say my opinion, holding his rebellion not so
dangerous.
"If the Queen's honour may
be saved, without blemish, like unto an unspotted virgin herself, all
means should be used to draw this Earl into his former obedience, his
grief not being very difficult to redress. He has ever more had a thirsty
desire to be called O'Neill a name more in price to him than to be
entitled Caesar. The power that this Earl can make is about 6000 or 7000
footmen, and better than 1000 horse. To encounter this force, the Queen
(besides the forces now in garrison) hath need to erect into bands 2500
footmen and 500 horsemen. When the Deputy shall make his general hostings
to bring him into the enemy's country, he may command the established
garrisons of Ulster to come to him."
There is no doubt that the
Queen and the English Council were much impressed by Tyrone's attitude.
Bagenal was warned not to further molest the Earl, and the disclosure of
the facts as set forth by Tyrone had much to do with Fitz-William's
resignation. |
