I am persuaded that this is a righteous judgment of God upon these barbarous
wretches, who have imbrued their hands in so much innocent blood; and that it will
tend to prevent the effusion of blood for the future, which are the satisfactory
grounds to such actions, which otherwise cannot but work remorse and regret.
The officers and soldiers of this garrison were the flower of all their army, and their
great expectation was, that our attempting this place would put fair to ruin us, they
being confident of the resolution of their men, and the advantages of the place...
And now give me leave to say how it comes to pass that this work is wrought. It
was set upon some of our hearts that a great thing should be done, not by power
or might, but by the Spirit of God. And is it not so clear? That which caused your
men to storm so courageously, it was the Spirit of God, who gave your men
courage, and took it away again; and gave the enemy courage, and took it away
again; and gave your men courage again, and therewith this happy success. And
therefore it is good that God alone have all the glory.CROMWELL’S VERDICT ON DROGHEDA
THE CASUALTIES OF DROGHEDA
Oliver Cromwell’s army
besieges Drogheda in this
17th-century illustrationOliver Cromwell’s letter to William Lenthall, Speaker of the House of
Commons, on 17 September 1649The casualty list appended to Oliver Cromwell’s letter to William
Lenthall, Speaker of the House of Commons, 27 September 1649A list of the officers and soldiers slain at
the storming of Drogheda.
Sir Arthur Aston, Governor.
Sir Edmond Verney, Lieutenant Col:
to Ormonds Regiment.
Col: Fleming, of Horse.
Lieutenant Col: Finglass, of Horse.
Major Fitzgerald, of Horse.
Eight Captains, eight Lieutenants,
eight Cornets, all of horse.
Col: Warren, Walls, Byrne, of Foot,with their Lieutenants, majors etc.
The Lord Taaffs brother, an
Augustine Fryer
Forty-four Captains, and all
their Lieutenants, Ensigns, etc.
Two hundred and twenty
Reformado’s and Troopers.
Two thousand five hundred Foot
Soldiers, besides Staff-Officers,
Chyrurgeons etc. and many
Inhabitants.the heat of prosecution” immediately
following the assault, parliamentary troops
shot through the windows of his house,
where over 30 Protestants had gathered
seeking sanctuary, killing one person and
seriously wounding another. The soldiers
broke into the building, discharging their
weapons, before the timely intervention
of an English officer known to the dean
restored order.
This passage raises a number of key
issues. According to Bernard, the
troops fired on civilians sheltering
indoors, contrary to claims that the
parliamentarians only targeted those
in arms. Moreover, the group was only
saved from further harm when an officer
recognised Bernard and identified his
companions as Protestants. The town’s
Catholic population would not have
enjoyed similar protection.
During the 1660s, following the
restoration of Charles II, petitions to the
court of claims listed a number of people,
including Captain Thomas Archer and
Robert Hartlepoole, as “slain at Drogheda
in his majesty’s service”. Alongside these
military personnel, others, such as James
Fleming, were described as “murdered”,
while Henry Mortimer was killed “being
then about 70 years of age”.
Cromwell similarly distinguished
between soldiers and non-combatants in
his reports to England. On 27 September
1649, he sent Lenthall an update of
developments in Ireland, along with
details of enemy losses at Drogheda. In
addition to the 3,000 military casualties,
the list included the phrase “and many
inhabitants”. Unfortunately, the original
letter does not appear to have survived,
but parliament ordered a copy to be
published on 2 October. Writing in the
mid-19th century, Thomas Carlyle
claimed, without any evidence, that the
offending phrase must have been added
in a later printed compilation, while
CH Firth suggested that the printers in
1649 may have tagged the casualty list
onto Cromwell’s letter, perhaps on
parliament’s command.
Carlyle’s supposition is easy to dismiss,
as the original pamphlet from October
1649, complete with the incriminating
phrase, still exists. As for Firth’s theory, the
parliamentary regime in England took a
close interest in the world of publishing
and passed an act in late September to
control output. John Field and Edward
Husband, official printers to parliament,
risked losing their positions if they
tampered with official documents, and
GETTY IMAGESFirth never explained why parliament