The Battle of Arklow took place during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 on June 9th when a rebel force from Wexford, estimated at 10,000 strong, launched an assault into County Wicklow, on the British-held town of Arklow, in an attempt to spread the rebellion into Wicklow and to threaten the capital of Dublin. June 9 is the 160th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (161st in leap years), with 205 days remaining. ... 1798 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Arklow (An tInbhear Mór in Irish) is a historic town in County Wicklow on the east coast of Ireland. ... Wicklow (Cill Mhantáin in Irish) is the county town of County Wicklow in the Republic of Ireland. ... The Irish Rebellion of 1798 or 1798 rebellion as it is known locally, was an uprising in 1798, lasting several months, against the British establishment in Ireland. ... The Battle of Ballymore-Eustace was one of the events in the United Irish rebellion of 1798. ... In one of the first engagements of the 1798 rebellion, a force of over 1,000 rebels attacked Naas, the strongest Crown garrison in county Kildare, following the successful mobilisation of United Irishmen, Defenders and rebels throughout county Kildare on the night of 23rd May. ... United Irish taking of Prosperous, Co. ... // Battles of Kilcullen 24th May 1798 Old Kilcullen 7 a. ... Battle of Carlow, 25th May 1798 Following the outbreak of the 1798 Rebellion on 24th May in county Kildare, Carlow rebels assembled on the night of the 24th and set off at dawn to attack the County town and picked up more volunteers along the way. ... The Battle of Tara Hill was fought on 26 May 1798 between British forces and Irish rebels involved in the Irish Rebellion of 1798, resulting in a heavy defeat for the rebels and the end of the rebellion in County Meath. ... Battle of Oulart Hill 27th May 1798 The battle of Oulart Hill took place on 27th May 1798 when a rebel gathering of 1,000 annihilated a detachment of militia sent from Wexford town to stamp out the spread of 1798 rebellion in county Wexford. ... Gibbet Rath Massacre, Curragh, Co. ... Battle of Three Rocks, Wexford 30th May 1798 The battle of Three Rocks was a United Irish victory during the 1798 rebellion against a British artillery column marching to reinforce Wexford town against anticipated rebel attack. ... The battle of Bunclody or Newtownbarry as it was then called, was a battle in the Irish Rebellion of 1798, which took place on 1st June 1798 when a force of some 5,000 rebels led by Catholic priest Fr. ... The Battle of New Ross took place in county Wexford in south-eastern Ireland, during the Irish Rebellion of 1798. ... The battle of Foulksmills (also known as the battle of Goffs Bridge) was a battle on 20th June 1798 between advancing British forces seeking to stamp out the rebellion in Wexford during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and a rebel army assembled to oppose them. ... The battle of Vinegar Hill was an engagement on 21st June 1798 between forces of the British Crown and Irish rebels when over 10,000 British soldiers launched an attack on Vinegar Hill outside Enniscorthy, Co. ... The battle of Ballyellis on 30th June 1798 was a clash during the 1798 rebellion between a surviving column of the dispersed Wexford rebel army and pursuing British forces which resulted in a total victory for the rebels. ... The battle of Castlebar occurred on 27th August during the 1798 rebellion when a combined force of 2,000 French troops and Irish rebels routed a force of 6,000 British troops in what would later became known as the “Races of Castlebar”. // Background The long awaited French landing to... (Redirected from 1798 rebellion) The Irish Rebellion of 1798 or 1798 rebellion as it is known locally, was an uprising in 1798, lasting several months, against the British establishment in Ireland. ... June 9 is the 160th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (161st in leap years), with 205 days remaining. ... Wexford (Irish: Loch Garman) is the county town of County Wexford in the Republic of Ireland. ... Wicklow (Cill Mhantáin in Irish) is a county on the east coast of Ireland, immediately south of Dublin. ... Arklow (An tInbhear Mór in Irish) is a historic town in County Wicklow on the east coast of Ireland. ... Dublin (Irish: Baile Átha Cliath),is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Ireland, located near the midpoint of Irelands east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the centre of the Dublin region. ...

Background

The Government’s first counter attack against the rebels had ended in failure following a heavy and demoralising defeat at Tuberneering on June 4. The rebel victory had punched a massive hole in the dragnet the military had attempted to throw around county Wexford and had also yielded them significant amounts of weapons, supplies and artillery. The town of Arklow had been evacuated in the ensuing panic but the rebels had contented themselves with taking the town of Gorey and stayed within the Wexford border. When the rebels finally moved against Arklow, the town had been reoccupied by a force of 1,700 men sent from Dublin under General Needham, who quickly fortified the town with barricades and had artillery positioned on all the approaches to the town. A dragnet is any system of coordinated measures for apprehending criminals or suspects; including road barricades and traffic stops, widespread DNA tests, and general increased police alertness. ... This article is about the town in Ireland. ... Historically, artillery refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. ...

The Battle

The rebel army that formed for attack on the afternoon of the 9th June was a combined force of Wexford and Wicklow rebels led by Billy Byrne, Anthony Perry, Edward Fitzgerald and Fr. Michael Murphy. The area surrounding the town and the approaches was covered by scrub and the rebel strategy adopted was to advance under cover attacking the town simultaneously from several points. Before the action began, the rebels under Esmonde Kane opened fire upon the town with some of the artillery captured at Tuberneering and had some success by scoring a direct hit on a British artillery position, destroying the cannon and killing the attendant crew. The main assault was quickly launched but at all entry points the rebels were blown back by the musket fire, grapeshot and cannonade of the well trained and disciplined British regulars. An attempt to turn the rebel failure into a rout was defeated when rebel pikemen and sharpshooters drove a cavalry charge back across the Avoca River, but an attempt to force a way into the town through the outlying fishing port was bloodily repulsed. Scrub has a number of meanings: to rub a surface hard, especially with a brush; low lying vegetation. ... A small cast-iron cannon on a carriage A cannon is any large tubular firearm designed to fire a heavy projectile over a considerable distance. ... muskets and bayonets aboard the frigate Grand Turk A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth-bore long gun. ... Grapeshot was a kind of anti-personnel ammunition used in cannons. ... A pike is a pole weapon once used extensively by infantry principally as a counter-measure against cavalry assaults. ... The Avoca is a river in County Wicklow, Republic of Ireland. ...

As rebel casualties mounted, the lack of ammunition and proper leadership began to work against the rebels, and after Fr. Murphy was killed leading a charge their attacks started to peter out. As nightfall came the rebels began to withdraw under cover of darkness and collect their wounded and were not pursued or molested by the garrison who were, unknown to the rebels, down to their last three or four rounds per man and were themselves at the brink of defeat. The rebels left behind over 1,000 dead in and around the town with casualties to the garrison amounting to some 60 dead and 100 wounded.

Aftermath

The defeat at Arklow marked the third failure to extend the rebellion beyond the borders of Co. Wexford following the other bloody repulses at New Ross and Bunclody. The rebel strategy now changed to a policy of static defence against the encroaching British armies. Battle of New Ross 1798 One of the bloodiest battles of the 1798 rebellion began at dawn on 5th June 1798 in New Ross, Co. ... The battle of Bunclody or Newtownbarry as it was then called, was a battle in the Irish Rebellion of 1798, which took place on 1st June 1798 when a force of some 5,000 rebels led by Catholic priest Fr. ...