LETTERS FROM IRELAND, Relating the several great Successes it hath pleased God to give unto the Parliaments Forces there, in the Taking of Drogheda, Trim, Dundalk, Carlingford, and the Nury.  
Together with a LIST of the Chief Commanders, and the Number of the Officers and Soldiers slain in Drogheda.  
Die Martis, 2 Octobr. 1649.  
ORdered by the Commons assembled in Parliament, That the several Letters from the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, together with so much of Colonel Venables Letter as concerns the Successes in Ireland, be forthwith printed and published.  
Hen: Scobell, Cleric. Parliamenti.  
London, Printed by John Field for Edward Husband, Printer to the Parliament of England. 1649.   


For the Honourable William Lenthal Esq Speaker of the Parliament of England.  
SIR,  
YOur Army being safely arrived at Dublin, and the Enemy endeavouring to draw all his Forces together about Trim and Tecroghan (as my Intelligence gave me;) from whence endeavours were used by the Marquis of Ormond, to draw Owen Roe O Neal with his Forces to his Assistance, but with what success I cannot yet learn. I resolved after some refreshment taken for our weather beaten Men and Horses, and accommodations for a march, to take the Field; and accordingly upon Friday the Thirtieth of August last, Rendezvouzed with Eight Regiments of Foot, and Six of Horse, and some Troops of Dragoons, three miles on the Northside of Dublin; the Design was, To endeavour the Regaining of Drogheda, or tempting the Enemy, upon his hazard of the loss of that place, to fight. Your Army came before the Town upon Monday following, where having pitched, as speedy course as could be was taken to frame our Batteries, which took up the more time, because divers of the Battering Guns were on Ship board: Upon Monday the Ninth of this instant, the Batteries began to play; whereupon I sent Sir Arthur Ashton the then Governor a Summons, To deliver the Town to the use of the Parliament of England; to the which I received no satisfactory Answer, but proceeded that day to beat down the Steeple of the Church on the Southside of the Town, and to beat down a Tower not far from the same place, which you will discern by the Card enclosed: Our Guns not being able to do much that day, It was resolved to endeavour to do our utmost the next day to make Breaches assaultable, and by the help of God to Storm them: The places pitched upon, were that part of the Town wall next a Church, called St. Mary's; which was the rather chosen, because we did hope that if we did enter and possess that Church, we should be the better able to keep it against their Horse and Foot, until we could make way for the entrance of our Horse, which we did not conceive that any part of the Town would afford the like advantage for that purpose with this. The Batteries planted were two, one was for that part of the Wall against the East end of the said Church, the other against the Wall on the Southside; being somewhat long in Battering, the Enemy made six Retrenchments, three of them from the said Church to Duleek Gate, and three from the East end of the Church to the Town wall, and so backward. The Guns after some two or three hundred shot, beat down the Corner Tower, and opened two reasonable good Breaches in the East and South wall. Upon Tuesday the Tenth of this instant, about five of the clock in the evening, we begun the Storm, and after some hot Dispute, we entered about Seven or Eight hundred men, the Enemy disputing it very stiffly with us; and indeed through the advantages of the place, and the courage God was pleased to give the Defenders, our men were forced to retreat quite our of the Breach, not without some considerable loss; Colonel Cassel being there shot in the Head, whereof he presently died, and divers Soldiers and Officers doing their duty, killed and wounded: There was a Tenalia to flanker the South-wall of the Town, between Duleek Gate, and the Corner Tower before mentioned, which our men entered, wherein they found some forty or fifty of the Enemy, which they put to the sword, and this they held; but it being without the Wall, and the Sally part through the Wall into that Tenalia being choked up, with some of the Enemy which were killed in it, it proved of no use for our entrance into the Town that way. Although our men that stormed the Breaches were forced to recoil, as before is expressed, yet being encouraged to recover their loss, they made a second attempt, wherein God was pleased to animate them, that they got ground of the Enemy, and by the goodness of God, forced him to quit his Entrenchments; and after a very hot dispute, the Enemy having both Horse and Foot, and we only Foot with●n the Wall, the Enemy gave ground, and our men became masters; but of their Retrenchments and the Church, which indeed although they made our entrance the more difficult, yet they proved of excellent use to us, so that the Enemy could not annoy us with their Horse, but thereby we had advantage to make good the ground, that so we might let in our own Horse, which accordingly, was done, though with much difficulty; the Enemy retreated divers of them into the Mill-Mount, a place very strong and of difficult access, being exceeding high, having a good graft and strongly Pallisadoed; the Governor Sir Arthur Ashton, and divers considerable Officers being there, our men getting up to them, were ordered by me to put them all to the Sword; and indeed being in the heat of action, I forbade them to spare any that were in Arms in the Town, and I think that night they put to the sword about two thousand men, divers of the Officers and Soldiers being fled over the Bridge into the other part of the Town, where about One hundred of them possessed St. Peter's Church Steeple, some the West Gate, and others, a round strong Tower next the Gate, called St. Sundays: These being summoned to yield to mercy, refused; whereupon I ordered the Steeple of St. Peter's Church to be fired, where one of them was heard to say in the midst of the flames, God damn me, God confound me, I burn, I burn; the next day the other two Towers were summoned, in one of which was about six or seven score, but they refused to yield themselves; and we knowing that hunger must compel them, set only good Guards to secure them from running away, until their stomaches were come down: from one of the said Towers, notwithstanding their condition, they killed and wounded some of our men; when they submitted, their Officers were knocked on the head, and every tenth man of the Soldiers killed, and the rest Shipped for the Barbadoss; the Soldiers in the other Town were all spared, as to their lives only, and Shipped likewise for the Barbadoss. I am persuaded that this is a righteous Judgement of God upon these Barbarous wretches, who have imbrued their hands in so much innocent blood, and that it will tend to p●●●●●● the effusion of blood for the future, which are the satisfactory grounds to such Actions, which o●●●●●ise cannot but work remorse and regret. The O●●●●e●s 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 〈◊〉 us; they being confident of the Resolution of their men and the advantage of the place; if we had divided our Force into two ●●●●ters, to have Besieged the North Town and the South Town, we could not have had such a correspondency between the two parts of our Army, but that they might have chosen to have brought their Army, and have fought with which part they pleased, and at the same time have made a Salley with two thousand men upon us, and have left their walls manned, they having in the Town the numbers specified in this enclosed, but some say near Four thousand. Since this great Mercv vouchsafed to us, I sent a Party of Horse and Dragoons to Dund●●k, which the Enemy quitted, and we are possessed of; as also another Castle they deserted between Trim and Drogheda, upon the Boynes. I sent a Party of horse and Dragoons to a House within five miles of Trim, there being then in Trim some Scots Companies which the Lord of Ardes brought to assist the Lord of Ormond; but upon the News of Drogheda they ran away, leaving their great Guns behind them, which we also have possessed. 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. It is is remarkable, that these people at the first set up the Mass in some places of the town that had been Monasteries; but afterwards grew so insolent, that the last Lord's day before the Storm, the Protestants were thrust out of the great Church, called St. Peter's, and they had public Mass there; and in this very place near One thousand of them were put to the Sword, flying thither for safety: I believe all their Friars were knocked on the head promiscuously, but two, the one of which was Father Peter Taaff (Brother to the Lord Taaff) whom the Soldiers took the next day, and made an end of; the other was taken in the Round Tower, under the repute of Lieutenant, and when he understood that the Officers in that Tower had no quarter, he confessed he was a Friar, but that did not save him. A great deal of loss in this business, fell upon Col: Hewson, Col: Cassel, and Colonel Ewers Regiments; Colonel Ewers having two Field-Officers in his Regiment shot, Colonel Cassel and a Captain of his Regiment slain, Colonel Hewsons' Captain-Lieutenant slain; I do not think we lost One hundred men upon the place, though many be wounded. I most humbly pray, the Parliament will be pleased this Army may be maintained, and that a consideration may be had of them, and of the carrying on of the Affairs here, as may give a speedy issue to this work, to which there seems to be a marvellous fair opportunity offered by God. And although it may seem very chargeable to the State of England to maintain so great a Force, yet surely to stretch a little for the present, in following God's Providence, in hope the charge will not be long, I trust it will not be thought by any (that have not irreconcilable or malicious Principles) unfit for me to move for a constant supply, which in humane probability, as to outward means, is most likely to hasten and perfect this work; and indeed, if God please to finish it here, as he hath done in England, the War is like to pay itself. We keep the Field much, our Tents sheltering us from the wet and cold, but yet the Country sickness overtakes many, and therefore we desire recruits, and some fresh Regiments of Foot may be sent us; for it is easily conceived by what the Garrisons already drink up, what our field Army will come to, if God shall give more Garrisons into our hands. Craving pardon for this great trouble, I rest,  
Your most humble Servant, O. CROMWELL. Dublin, Sept. 17. 1649.  
Since the writing of my Letter, a Major who brought off Forty three Horse from the Enemy, told me, that it is reported in their Camp, that Owen Roe and they are agreed.   


A List of the Defendants in Drogheda.  
THe Lord of Ormonds' Regiment, Sir Edmund Verney, Lieut: Colonel, 400.  
Col: Bourn, 400.  
Col: Warren, 900.  
Col: Wall, 800.  
The Lord of Westmeath, 200.  
Sir james Dillon, 200.  
Horse, 200.     


For the Honourable Willaiam Lenthal Esq Speaker of the Parliament of England.  
Mr. Speaker,  
I Had not received any account from C 〈…〉 (whom I sent from Drogheda, to endeavour the reducing of Carlingford, and so to march Northward, towards a conjunction with Sir Charles Coot) until the last night. After he came to Carlingford, having summoned the place, both the three C●●●●●s and the Fort commanding the Harbour, were ●en●●ed to him; wherein were about Forty Barrels of Powder, seven piece of Canon, about One thousand Muskets, and five hundred P●●●s wanting twenty. In the entrance into the Harbour, Captain Fern aboard your Man of War had some danger, being much shot at from the Sea Fort, a ballet shooting through his main Mast: The Captain's entrance into that Harbour, was a considerable adventure, and a good service; as also was Captain Brandleys', who with forty Seamen stormed a very strong Tenalia at Drogheda, and helped to take it, for which he deserves an owning by you. Venables marched from Carlingford, with a Party of Horse and Dragoons to the Nury, leaving the Foot to come up after him: He summoned the place, and it was yielded before his Foot came up to him. Some other Informations I have received from him, which promise well towards your Northern Interest; which if well prosecuted, will (I trust through God) render you a good account of those parts. I have sent those things to be presented to the Council of State for their consideration. I pray God as these Mercies flow in upon you, he will give you an heart to improve them to his Glory alone, because he alone is the Author of them, and of all the goodness, patience and long-suffering extended towards you. Your Army is marched, and I believe this night lieth at Arctlo, in the County of Wicklo, by the Sea side, between thirty and forty miles from this place: I am this day by God's blessing going towards it. I crave your pardon for this trouble, and rest,  
Your most humble Servant, O. Cromwell. Dublin, Sep. 27. 1649.  
I desire the Supplies moved for, may be hastened: I am verily persuaded, though the burden be great, yet it is for your Service. If the Garrisons we take, swallow up your men, how shall we be able to keep the Field? who knows but the Lord may pity England's sufferings, and make a short work of this? it is in his hand to do it, and therein only your Servants rejoice.  
I humbly present the condition of Captain George Jenkins his widow: He died presently after Tredagh storm; his widow is in great want.   


A List of the Officers and Soldiers slain at the storming of Drogheda.  
SIr Arthur Ashton Governor.  
Sir Edmond Verney Lieutenant Col: to Ormonds' Regiment.  
Col: Fleming, of Horse.  
Lieutenant Col: Finglass, of Horse.  
Major Fitzgerald, of Horse.  
Eight Captains of Horse.  
Eight Lieutenants of Horse.  
Eight Cornets of Horse.  
Col: Warren, of Foot, with their Lieutenants, Majors, etc.  
Col: Walls, of Foot, with their Lieutenants, Majors, etc.  
Col: Byrne, of Foot, with their Lieutenants, Majors, etc.  
The Lord Taaffs brother, an Augustine Friar.  
Forty four Captains, and all their Lieutenants, Ensigns, etc.  
Two hundred and twenty Reformadoes and Troopers.  
Two thousand Five hundred-Foot Soldiers, besides Staff-Officers, Surgeons, etc. and many Inhabitants.     

For His Excellency, The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.  
My Lord,  
IN observance of your Excellency's Orders, I advanced to Carlingford upon Tuesday last, and at the same instant, Captain Ferns came into the Harbours mouth with his Frigate; and upon the Signal agreed upon betwixt us, came in with much gallantry and resolution, endured many shots, whereof one split his main Mast, and in the Haven took a small Wexford Vessel; And in the three Castles and the Seafort, we found seven piece of Ordinance, near forty Barrels of Powder, and as many of small shot, above a thousand Muskets, and four hundred and eighty Pikes (the greatest store in Ulster) but little Provision; the next day I marched with some Horse and Dragoons to the Nury and summoned the place, which also yielded immediately before the Foot could come. Many difficulties encounter us, yet by God's assistance, I resolve to break through all, to follow the leading Providence of that Divine Hand, which now seems to guide us forward; for except we march on, the Scots resolve to put Irish into Carrickfergus, Belfast, and Lisnegarvy, because their own Nation refuses them both assistance and Provisions; and if we prevent not the Irish, it will kindle a new War in those Parts, more bloody than what we have yet tasted of; which to prevent, shall be my utmost and chief endeavour. Monro hath already put some Irish into Colrain: I have sent several Messengers to Sir Charles Coot, to know his pleasure, to acquaint him with my resolutions for this work: we are all full of (not improbable) hopes of Divine assistance in this work; which if your Excellency please, but to cherish us in, may through God's assistance, prove a most happy undertaking, which is the Prayer of, My Lord,  
Your Excellencies most humble Servant, R. VENABLES. Nury Sept. 22. 1649.  
We had in the Castle of this place, sixty Muskets, and five Barrels of Powder.  
FINIS.