Battles & Skirmishes of the 1798 Irish Rebellion - Part 3

The Trent Miniatures range contains a wide variety of wonderfully characterful models across a variety of warzones and time periods. This includes models from the Irish rebellion, the Caribbean Rebellion and the French Revolution to name but a few.

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This weeks Blog post marks the final in our series of articles looking at the background of the 1798 Irish Rebellion. Part 3 takes a deeper look into the units, battles and skirmishes of this time.

Irish Rebellion - Part 3

The regular British army units that were based in Ireland at the time of the rebellion were hugely understrength, having been reduced at the end of the last war in Europe with only a skeleton staff held on the establishment. As a result, the Government had to turn to the militia as its main opposition to the rebels, supported by whatever troops they could cobble together. The first encounters of the war were little more than skirmishes as small bands of rebels tried to seize Government barracks and armouries to obtain muskets, powder, and cannon. The Government forces were dispersed in small groups and most often fought at company strength or even as a “Corporals Guard” of ten men or fewer.

The Opening Shots...

You may have noticed that Trent make “Beadles and Watchmen” (IR03/05) as well as Dublin Constabulary (IR03/02). These were the troops that defended Dublin Castle when Rebels attempted to seize it on the first night of the rebellion, sounding the alarm as the rebels approached and closing the gates to prevent their entry. The watchmen and police were also the defenders of the mail coaches that the rebels had to seize to send a signal that the rebellion had begun.

If you fancy a small-scale skirmish game, with each figure representing one man, then a fun scenario could involve the constabulary defending a mail coach, a small Corporals Guard of Militia or Fencibles defending their barracks, or a noble’s estate under threat. None of these scenarios would require more than three or four packs a side and would provide a gentle introduction to the period. This also has the advantage of enabling you to pick and choose a couple of your favourite units without having to commit to purchasing a whole battalion.

Example Scenario: The Battle of Prosperous: 24^th May 1798

The garrison consisted of elements of the Royal Cork City Militia who were backed up by a small squadron of the Ancient British Regiment of Fencible Dragoons! Surprised by the rebels, the dismounted cavalry and militia fought a desperate action in the streets of the town before being surrounded in the barracks which the rebels set on fire. With no choice but to jump from the burning building, the Government troops were stabbed to death as they landed. Only a few of the cavalry escaped the slaughter.

This short action is a good example of the kind of early skirmish that took place in the rebellion. The militia numbered about 100 men and so they could be represented by two units of 6 figures (3 packs of militia IR98/07 would do the trick) with a six-figure cavalry unit (for fencible Dragoons use the Yeomanry cavalry with the fitted jacket IR98/11) as support. Using this scale, the rebel commander would have 24 figures under his command divided into 4 rebel pike units, which equates to 3 packs of Pikemen (IR98/01 etc).

Mounted Irish Rebels produced by Skytrex

Stats for Black Powder are presented at the end of this article, but you may want to consider using smaller scale rules, such as Ospreys “Chosen Men” or similar and break the forces on each side down into smaller units to give the players more tactical flexibility. 

The Rebellion Spreads...

Battles were fought in Carlow, at Enniscorthy, Oulart Hill and many more. These early, small-scale battles are ideal for anyone collecting the Irish rebellion as they are easy to collect in terms of numbers and so you can paint up your army and get it on the table as soon as possible. 

Example Scenario: The Battle of the Hill of Tara

The Government force consisted of 3 companies of the Reay Scottish fencibles supported by 2 companies of militia and two squadrons of Yeomanry cavalry commanded by Lord Dunsany and Lord Fingall. They also had with them a six-pounder gun. Although this sounds like a lot, the government force numbered only 700 men and so was heavily outnumbered.

With the cavalry on the flanks and the artillery in the centre, the Government forces advanced on the rebels who began to run down the hill in an uncontrolled wild charge! Faced with regular volleys from the infantry and cannister fire from the gun, the rebels were flung into disorder and were charged down by the cavalry. The Government suffered only 40 casualties whilst the rebels lost more than 400.

This is an excellent example of the kind of small battles fought during this war. Each of the Governments “companies” consisted of about 100 men, so we can divide this into three 12-man units of Scottish fencibles, two 12-man units of Militia and two 6 or 12 man units of Yeomanry Cavalry. This force is topped off with a single gun and three commanders to represent Captain Blanche, Lord Dunsany and Lord Fingall. In “Black Powder” terms, these three could act as Brigade commanders.

Although the rebel army is reported to have been 4000 strong, many of these would have been camp followers and looters and not necessarily “front line” troops. The Rebel army could be divided into ten or fourteen units of six of eight figures each. The rebel army should have only 10% or 20% of its number with firearms, so perhaps two of your ten units, or three of your 14 would be small units of musket armed troops. The rest would be blocks of pike. If using Black Powder rules, the command rating of the rebel commanders should be set around 7, to reflect the lack of control they had over their troops and to ensure that the rebels don’t try to do anything too fancy in terms of movement and manoeuvre.

Again, Black powder stats are provided at the end of this article, but this would appear to be an ideal size of battle to use rules such as “Sharp Practice” or similar mid-range battle rules.

The End of the Road

5th Battalion 60th Foot Rifles Command produced by Skytrex

On the rebel side, the French had finally landed a small force to support the rebels. Led by General Humbert, this force provided a core of trained regulars that was supported by enthusiastic rebel pike blocks. Anyone wanting to collect a colourful mixed force should look no further and a few French units will certainly add some tactical flexibility to a rebel army which can sometimes be tactically a one trick pony.

Although the French force was initially successful, elsewhere the Government won key victories at Vinegar Hill, Ballinamuck, Foulksmill and Ovidstown. The balance was tilting toward the British and seeing they had little hope of relief, the French force surrendered. Although many of the leaders of the rebellion fled into the hills to fight a guerrilla campaign, the rebellion was effectively over.

Example Scenario: The Battle of Castlebar

The Government force at Castlebar numbered around 6000 men and consisted of:

• 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons (4 squadrons)
• Lord Roden's Fencible Dragoons (1 squadron)
• 6th Regiment of Foot (1 company)
• Longford Regiment of Militia (1 battalion)
• Kilkenny Regiment of Militia (1 battalion)
• Fraser's Regiment of Fencibles (1/2 battalion)
• Galway Volunteers (1 company)
• The force was supported by 10 guns of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (100 men)

Each battalion appears to have numbered about 1000 men, and so should be represented by 20- or 24-man battalions, with half battalions and companies appearing as smaller units. The best way to represent this force is by having the militia as “Unreliable” or “Freshly Raised” or perhaps make them take a morale check if charged by the French in order to stand and fire. 

The Franco-Irish force at Castlebar numbered about 2000 men and consisted of:

• 2e Battalion/ 70e demi Brigade de Ligne (794 men)
• Company de Grenadiers Francs (51 men)
• Dismounted Company de Chasseurs de Cheval (46 total)
• 1000 Irish rebels

11 men of the 12^th Hussars served as General Humberts bodyguard. Although there were large numbers of rebels present, most of the heavy lifting in this battle was done by the French regulars, who advanced on the Government guns unwaveringly and put the militia to flight. These men were veterans from the wars in Italy and so should be graded as such when drawing up your army list. I would deploy the French as one large battalion with the Grenadiers fighting as an elite but small unit. The Irish infantry could be placed in blocks of 12-man units, with perhaps 4 on board? The cavalry appears to have fought dismounted due to a lack of suitable mounts, but there is nothing to stop you deploying a mounted unit here for a bit of fun. Either way, they add a splash of colour to the rebel army.

The Irish Rebellion Using Black Powder

Shown below are some suggested army lists for the Irish rebellion using the “Black Powder” rules. However, please feel free to adjust these to suit your own interpretation of the rebellion and to suit the circumstances of each battle, as no two battles in this campaign were ever the same in terms of troop performance!

Sample Rebel Army: Brigade Commanders CR 7

Sample Government Army: Brigade Commanders CR 8

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