Newspapers / The Durham Recorder (Durham, … / March 15, 1865, edition 1 / Page 1
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if j s ( r 1 1 111 iiiiifillili P tiif i X : ,- THE CONSTITUTION ANTKTIIB tAwjEj T HE O V AUDI A N S O FOB R LIBERTY Vol. XL VI.- IIILLSBOEOUGH, llj C4 MAECH 16, 1865. No. 2287. THE fclEGE OF LONDONDERRY. W eopj from the Fsjetleville Qbaerver th foU lowing eiciting account of ihe aieg e of Londonderry. II it from Mecauley'e Hiatory of England. Ia the prwent derangement ot tbe mails, and the paucity of mittcf In lhe law eivhangr we gat. we do not know ihitwo ecu Id Cll a page with, anything (bat would to tuore Interetliog to oor rcadera. One af the moat remarkable military ients recorded in history it the struggle Mr Londonderry, an Irish town, which for 105 days in'the sp'ing sad summer af 1689 restated the h ranch and Iris amies eagsged in the effort to reestablish the evernraent of King Janes, superceded in )C8S by v ilium and Mary. That our pmple may see what brave man straggling iitr frcrdm in past aces have endured, and it endurance accomplished, we con? the doling pages orMacauley't account in his third volume of English bistorjr. The urge began ia April, lite defences were eak; provision were scanty; her Go vernor was a traitor $ an incensed tyrant and a V"1 army were at hei fates. Hot within her waits were brave mea 7,000 ia ill capable uf bearing arms ; and those as- aiitvd by as brave women fought though April and May with deaided advantige otrr the foe. But food was scarce, and he besiegers knowing it, ciosely blockari- .1 - I a i . M the town ot una ana dv water, aoan- Jtttifd fightmf, and resolved is trj the el ect of hunger. 1 he Historian aaysi Within the walls the distress had become extreme. early at the eighth ol Jane iorte-fie'ah was almost the only meat which UtM be purchased ; aad of horseflesh the VuppW wi scanty, it was necessary to kaketp I be deficiency with tallow ; aad Yrvea fljw was doled oat with a parsime- Oa the fifteenth of June a fleam at hope ptpctred. The tentinela oa the ti p of the f'atitdral saw sails nine miles off in the Vat If Laugh Foylc. Thirty vessels of iflerent sizes were counted, signals were hade from tl.e ete'Mes and returned from ! ie mast hradt, but were imperfectly un- rrrond an uin sitiea. At last a messcn Ur Iroti the fleet eluded the IriOt eti risdxi-d unler the bomt aad informed lie gtrnaun that Kirkt had arrived fruai inglaad ith troops, arms, ammunition. knd proviaions, t relieve the city. In Londonderry eiiiectatio was at the right; bat a few lioora of fetcrUh joy Vers followed by weeks of mtery. Kirke 'ought tt unsafe to make an attempt, titer by land ar by water, on the lines ! e besiegers, and retired t the entrance I i4'iigii iMfle, where, during aeveral ktsks. i e lav inactive. Ana hw Uie prrsmrenf famine beeame vrrydi mure severe. A strict aeartb his msec in alt the receaaes of all the mes ot the eitrsand sme Drnviaions. Much had been concesled in cellars by e-pie bihad since itird or made their cap, wtte discovered and carried to the M2ines. The slock of caai-r balls wa 'n(teihautdj rnd their phce wa sup- ura uv Di nk bats coated with lead, res lence brgan.asuaual, to make its appear ueia the train of hunger. Ififtfen 'ta died. of feer ia ane dav. The (to- rnar. Baker, was anion? ilmae who sank inJerllie 1tiiH. Ilia uuce was sunnlied r a Col. JoSn Mitfihtiburne. I Meanwhile ,i waa known at Dublin that m inn Mia sojusiirod were on tne coast lltater. The alarm was gcat at the 'astle, Kve befwe this news arrived, taut had in jt M hig .pini0 that .uiaru aiaiunN oa aeieejaal to the dir. csltica ol the itation. i It had theren.re ttn reaoheil that Uoaan .ltd 1. 1 ill. ll.I.f m. ... A.t II- . I wn. i. , Oow sent down j VUiall apeed. I ;0aihe I9th af June he arrived at the "oq.artera ol the, besieging army. At Jrst he atteo.pted ta andermiue the walls pt hit plan was discovered, tad he was fmpelled totbandna it after a sharp fght, hich more than a hundred of h'i men Mmlain. Then his fu rv roae to nifm. ileh. lie, ia old laldlsr, a Marshal af ance in tgpectancy, trailed in the school tht greatest taerali, accuitom.d, dar- tng many years, to acientific war, to be binled by a mob of country gentlemen'. iarmers,nop-iteepere, who were protected U ' II ' L?L . . vmj wj m wou wmcn any, goon engineer wouia stance have proaosaccd untenable! I J L.. LI..L ' I , .. lie ravou, no oiaspntmea, in a language ol his owa, made up of aH the dialects speken from the Baltic to the Atlantic.' He woild raze the city to th ground ; he would spare no living thing no, not the young'girls; aot the babies at the breast. As to the leaders, death was too light a punishment lar thin;he would rack them ; he would roast them alive. In his ra?e he ordered a anew to oe uang into me town witn a latter containing a horrible menace. He would, he said, gather into one ! body all the Protestanta who had remained at their hornet between Charlcmont and the sea, aid men, wnanca, children, many of them near ia blood and affection to the defenders of Londonderry, No protection, whatever might be the authority by which it had been givea, shoild be respected. The multitude thus brought together should be driven under the walls ot Londonderry, and should there be starved to death in the sight of their countrymen, their friends, their kinsmen. Thia was no idle threat. Partioa ware instantly sent out in all di rectiona to Collect victims. " At dawn, oa the morning of the 2d of July, hundreds of Protestants, who were charged with no crime, who were incapable of bearing arms, and many of whom had protection grant ed by James, were draggeJ to the gates of the city. It was imagined tat the piteous S'ght woatd quell the spirit of the colonists. nut the oaly eBVct was to rouse that spirit to still greater 'aergy. . An order was im mediately put forth that ao man should ut-t-r the word Sarrender on pain ol death; aod na roan ottered that word., Several prisoners of high rank were in the town. Hitherto the r had been well treated, and had recalled a good ration as were mea sured oat to the garrion. They were now closely confined. A gallows was erected on one ol the bastion ; and a message was conveyed to Roen, requesting hiua to send a ewnlessor instantly to prepare his friends lor death. The prisoners a ta threat dismay wrote tithe savage Livoniao.but received no answer. They then addressed them selves to their countryman, Richard Hamil ton. They were wilting, ihey sajd, to hrd their" blood fr their King; but i'uey thoght it hard to die the iiominious eVath of thieve in consequence f the bar barity t-f their own companions in arm. llamiltoH, though a otatt of lax principl, was net tiael. He had been disgusted by the inhantanity of Raven, but, be i us; only second in command, emdd not venture t eipress publicly all that he thought. He hownver remonstrated strongly. Some I ,iah oflicers frit on (his occasion as it w naiural that brave tn should leel. and de clared, weeping itH pity and iodignation, that they should never ceave to have in their ears the cries of the tr women and children who hod been driven at the pint of the pike ie die of famine between the camp and the city. Rosea persisted duf lug forty-eight hours. In tliat time wvfv unUappv creatures perished ; but London derry held out a resolutely as eer;.fd he saw tht hi riuie was likely to' produce nothing but hatred and 'b'ti(uy; Heat frfttaj gave war, and suffrred the anrvi vors lowithdraw. The gsrriaoit then look down the gallows which had hern erected on the bas:ton. Rosen was recalled to Dublin; and Richard Hamilton was again left in the chief command. He tried gentler means than lhoe Which had brought so much re proach on his predecessor. No trick, no he, which was thought likely ta discourage the starting garrison, was spared. One day a greet shout was raised by the whole Irish camp. The defeaJersof Londondsr ry were toon informeil tint the army af Jamet was rrjaicing on account of the fall ol Enaiskilten. They were told that they bad new na chance of being relieved, aad were exhorted to save their lives by s.pit dating. They consented to a'gotiate. Bui what they asked was, that thrr should be permitted to depart armed and in military ;? ,aBa 9r water at tneir choice. They demanded hostages for the exact, ful filment ot. these conditions, and insisted that the hostages should be on board. of the fleet (Which Fay, in Lough Poylc.' Such terms Hamilton durst . not grant ; the Qovernors would abate nothing; the trea ty was broken off, and the conflict recom menced. By this time July wat far advanced; and the state ot the city waa, hour by hoar, be coming more frightful. The e umber of the inhabitants had been thinned more by fa mine and ' disease than by the fire of the enemy. Yet that fire was sharper and more constant than ever.. One of tbe gates wss beaten ia ; oae of the bastions was laid in ruins; but the breaches made by day were repaired by night with iBdcfatt gabU activity. Every attack wat still re. pelled. 1 Hut the fighting men af the garri son were so much exhausted that they could acarcely keep their legs. Several of them, in the act ot ttrikiag at the enemy, fell down froa mere weak nets. A vary small quantity of grata remained, and wat doled oat by mouthfuls. The stock of salted hides was considerable, aad by gnawing them the garrison appealed the rage of hunger. Dogs, fattened en the blond af the tlain who lay unburied around the town, were luxuries which few could af ford to purchase. The price of a whelp's paw was five shillings aad sixpence. Nine horses were still alive, and but barely alive. They were t lean that little meat waa ikely ta be found upon them. It was, however, determined to slaughter them for food. The people perished sa fast that it wat impossible lor the survivors to perform the rites of sepulture. There wat scarce ly a cellar in which souse cerpee was not decaying. Such was the. extremity of dis tress that the' rats who camo to'feaat ia those hideous dens Wert eagerly hunted and greedily devoured. A small fish caught ia the liver was not to be purchased with money. The only price for which such a treasure could be obtained was some hand- fuls of oatmeal. and unwholesome diet engenders, made ex isteace a constant torment. The whole city was poisoned by tbe stench cxhsled front the bodies of the dead and of the half dead. That there shoald be fits of discontent and insubordination amoog men during such reUerwaa inevitable. At one mo ment it wan suopected that Walker had laid up somewhere a secret store ot fond, and was revelling in private, while he ex horted other to suSVr resolutely for the gfotl cause. His loose waa strictly exam ined ; his iooocence was fully proved ; he regained his popularity ; and the garrison, with death in near prospect, thronged to the cathedral to hear, him preach, drank in (is earnest eloquence with delight, and vj eut f i'tli from the house of God with hag lard faces and tottering 'steps, but with p rit still unsubdued. There were, in deed, some secret plottinga. A very few liscure traitors opened communication with the enemy. But it was necessary that all such dealings should ue carefully concealed. None dared to utter publicly my words save wnHs of defiance and stub born resolution. Kven i ta that extremity th- general cry va " No surrender." And there were not wanting voices which, in l tones ad J nl, Pint the horses and hides; aad then the prisoners; aod then each other." It was afterwards related, half ia jest, yet not without a horrible mixture of earnest, that a corpuierU citi zen, whose bulk presented a strange con trast to the skeletons which surrounded liiaa, thought it expedient to conceal him self from the numerous eyes which follow ed him with cannibal lookt whenever he appeared in the streets. It was no slight aggravation af tha suf ferings of the garrison that all this time the English ships were teen far off in Laugh Feyle. Communication between the fleet and the city was almost impassible. One diver who had attempted to pass the boom was drowned. Another was hanged. The language of signals wat hardly intelligible. Oa the 1 3 t!i ef July, however, a piece ef paper sewed up in a cloth button came to Walker's hands. It waa a letter from Kirke, and4contained assurances of speedy relief. But, more than a fortnight of in tense, misery had since elapsed, and the hearts of the most sanguine were tick with deferred hope. By no art Could the pro visions which were left be made to hold out two4days,more. Just at this time Kirke received a dis patch from Kngland,' which contained pos itive orders that Londonderry should be relieved. t He accordingly determined to make an attempt which, as far as appears, he might have made, -with at least an equal ly fair prospect of success, six weeks earlier. , " ' , Among the merchant ships which had come to Lough Fnyle under his convoy was one called the ' Mountjoy.' The master, kiicajah Browning, a native of Londonder ry, had brought from England a large car go of provisions. He had.it is said, re peatedly remonstrated against the inaction of the armament. He now eagerly volun teered to take the first risk ot succoring his tellow-citizens; and his offer was accept ed.. Andrew Douglas, master of the Phoenix, who had on board a great quantity of meal from Scotland, was willing to' share the danger and the honor. 1 The two merchant men were to be escorted by the Dartmouth frigate ol 36 guns, commanded by Captain John Leake, aftcrwardsn admiral of great fame. ' It was the thirtieth of July. The sun had jut set ; the evening sermon in the ca thedral was oyer; and the heart-broken congregation had separated, when the sen tinels on the tower saw the sails of three vessels coming up the Foyle. Soon there was a stir in the Irish camp. The besieg' ers were on the alert for miles along both thores. The ships were in extreme peril f ' for the river was low; and the only tiaviga ble channel ran veiy near to the left bank, where the headquarters of the enemy had been fixed, and where the batteries were , most numerous. Leake performed his du Leprosies, such as strange jty with a skill and spirit worthy of his no- Die proiession, exposed his frigate to cover the merchantmen, and used his guns with great effect. At length the little squadron came to the place of peril. Then the Mount- joy took tht lead, and went right at the uoum. ane nogB uarncaae cracaeu ana gave way ; but ti e shock was such that the Mountjoy rebounded and stuck in the mud. A yell of triumph rose from the banks; the Irish rushed to t!reir boats, and were pre paring to board ; but the Dartmouth poured on them a well-directed broadside, which threw them into disorder. Just then the Phoenix dashed at the breach which the Mountjoy had made, and was in a moment within the fence. Meantime the tide was rising fast. The Moun'joy began to move, and soon pasel sale through the broken stakes and floating spars. But her brave master was no more. .A shot from one of the batteries had struck him; and he ded bythe most enviable of all deaths, in right of the city which was his birthplace, which was his ho ur, 'U which had jvst Deer. saved br his courage and seh'-tlevotion from the irest frightful form of obstruction. The nijtht l ad closed in befu-c the conflict at the boom began I but .'he. flash af the gun.s was yecn, and the noise heard, ty the lean .and ghatlv rrultilade which co vered the -.walls ffiie city. When u t Mountjoy gr.turded, and when the shout f triumph Voc from the Irish on both side of ihe river, the AearU of the besieged died within them. Due who endured the unt.t- terabie ertgoM of that moment has to!u that thev Lked fearfully livid in vac't other's ees. Even after the barricai'e had be" parsed, there wit a terrible haif hour of supprnse. It was ten o'cltck lc fure tiie skips arrived at the qua. The uh f population was there to weir ,m tfcesn. 'A screen made of casks fiildl vit'i earth was haat'ty thrown up to (inject the landing place from the Lttterif sn tie other side of the river; and thru H.c wntk of un'oaoing began. First were rr!! l on shore barrels containing tig lin os r.d I shell of weal.' Then came g.mt ti."-e-e. casks of beef, flitchct of baton. I t. : ' (
The Durham Recorder (Durham, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
March 15, 1865, edition 1
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