The Battle of the Yellow Ford Ireland 1598- Part 1

This article is appearing in parts as there is a lot to describe and consequently much for us to learn.  The battle of the Yellow Ford saw the field deployment of artillery and the effective use of military engineering.  The opposing Generals knew both each other and the ground well. They had in the past served together. They were related by marriage. The idea that the battle was an ambush or a protracted skirmish is misplaced.  Both sides anticipated a decisive fight and both were confident of victory.

On the 14^th of August 1598 Sir Henry Bagenal led a powerful English Army to relieve the Black Water Fort which lay some 4 miles north west of Armagh.  He had agitated hard both for the expedition and for command of the same. 
  

Some, including Queen Elizabeth, had thought command should better go to the Earl of Ormond.   Ormond didn’t want it. He successfully cited the need to defend the Pale (and therefore his own adjacent lands) and gracefully stepped aside.

Sir Henry had his own personal imperatives too.  He was Marshal of Ulster at least according to the Crown.  As a second- generation colonist he had seen his own plans for expansion continually thwarted by the Ulster Lords, most notably by Tyrone.  Now he was struggling to hold on to what his father had gained. 
 

He had also been acutely embarrassed when his sister Mabel eloped with Tyrone.  In Irish terms this could have opened political opportunities had Sir Henry not immediately disowned his sister.
  

This left Mabel in a bad situation. Without her dowry and family blessing she could not legally aspire to the status of cétmuinter the highest form of Irish marriage-that of equals.  Worse, in many English eyes she had become complicit in treason.   

Sir Henry no doubt felt that this opened him up to ridicule and he yearned for revenge.  In this spirit he wrote to Queen Elizabeth seeking instruction on the distribution of Tyrone’s body parts post mortem.

The expedition was not stinted of men or money. It was the largest English force sent to Ireland to date. It was intended to be a crushing intervention.   


The Foot comprised of 6 regiments paired up in twos to create the typical military marching formation of Van, Battle and Rearward. All in all, there were some where above 3,500 men on the march that day.  They were supported by 350 English cavalry a truly impressive concentration of military striking power.  Unusually, for Ireland, artillery accompanied the column.

The column was well organised and it marched in battle order ready for deployment in line. This necessitated maintaining a gap of 150 yards between each regiment.  The soldiers were mostly experienced men.  Most of the senior officers had previously served in the Irish or Continental wars or both.

The Van was made up comprised of Percy’s and Bagenal’s regiments. These may have been double strength regiments of 1,000 men each.  In the rear of the Van was the oxen drawn Saker a powerful piece of artillery and a strong force of cavalry commanded by Sir Callisthenes Brook. The army baggage traveled immediately adjacent to the cavalry.

Sir Henry accompanied his regiment well placed as Marshal to spot problems and direct operations.

The Battle comprised of Colonels Cosby and Wingfield’s regiments along with the lighter guns. Colonels Cuney and Billings two regiments  formed the Rearward.  The latter were supported by half of the English Horse.

Opposing the English Army was the entire strength of the Gaelic North supplemented by some of O’Donnell’s Connacht allies.  Randall McSorley had brought the Antrim Scots.  Tyrone had somewhere between 3,500 and 5,000 men.  Apart from the Redshanks and the Horse the Irish soldiers were all of the modern type. There were shot, pike and targeteers.  The shot predominated. 

It was a major concentration of strength and there is little doubt that Tyrone’s aim was to destroy the English Army.

The Irish Army had been busy blocking the roads and passes with field defences.  It is often remarked that this showed the influence of O’Neill’s Spanish officers.  We can note that field defences had been part of the Irish military tradition since before the Normans.   As a result the English Army marched off road on the high ground towards the Blackwater Fort. This was to have consequences.

The march began with a forlorn hope of caliver men from the Van led by captains Leigh and Turner  who we are told were cheerfully smoking their pipes.  

From the outset the Irish shot under Brian McBarron and Redshank archers under Randall McSorley harassed the column. The English shook it off and confidently kept marching.  

To reach their destination they would have to cross the River Callan, three hills and a boggy ford the latter, Bhéal-an-Átha-Buí in Irish would give its name to the battle. Cath Bhéal-an-Átha-Buí which is to say the battle at the mouth of the yellow ford shortened in English to the Battle of the Yellow Ford.