The Denounced (Volume 1-2) (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE LAST BARON OF CKANA. CHAPTER I The battle of Aughram had been proceeding from daybreak till six o'clock, and was still undecided, although victory seemed wavering to the side of the unhappy Stuart. His French commander-in-chief, the brave and experienced, though conceited, St. Rothe, with a force much inferior in discipline to that which he opposed, had repulsed the whole day the charges of Ginkle's veteran army, made up of troops of many warlike nations. St. Rothe's excellent position greatly assisted the desperate courage of his native Irish soldiers. In his front, which fully occupied an unequal and broken hill, stretched a bog, scarce passable: his right was strongly entrenched; his left rested on the castle of Aughram. The cavalry of William repeatedly failed in their attempts to force either of the two last-mentioned points; and his infantry were equally successful in trying to shake the former. As twilight drew on, Ginkle prepared to pause or to retire; but a second and more fortunate thought prompted him to order a fresh assault, covered and supported by field-pieces, upon the Irish right. His historians say, that " it was not without the most surprising efforts of courage and perseverance they at length obliged the enemy to give ground, who, even then, lost it by inches." St. Rothe detached succours from his centre and his left to assist the disputed point. His antagonist, observing this movement, ordered the positions so weakened to be also attacked, and again the battle became general. While the discharges of artillery shrouded the combatants at the wing which it was brought to attack, Dutch, English, Danish, and French Huguenot cavalry were seen, at full gallop skirting the edge of the bog, to charge the left of the opposite army; and lon...