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The battle of Ballinamuck took place on the 8th September 1798 when a force of 800 French, under the command of General Humbert, together with about 1,500 Irish faced a combined British force of 14,000 men under General Lake and 15,000 under Lord Cornwallis, the new Irish viceroy. Humbert drew up his forces on Shanmullagh Hill and after a brief engagement with the British forces, the French surrendered. The success in breaking the United Irish/French lines by government troops effectively marked the end of the battle and the start of an indiscriminate slaughter of the Irish forces. Estimates of the number of causalities vary and it is believed that 500 Irishmen died on Shanmullagh Hill and possibly the same number in the ensuing mopping up operations. Some 96 French officers and 748 men were taken prisoner: they were taken by canal to Dublin and repatriated. The British army subsequently began a brutal campaign of killing and house burning that culminated in the taking of the town of Killala, Co. Mayo, on 23 September with much slaughter. The catastrophe at Ballinamuck left a strong imprint on social memory and has featured strongly in local folklore. The locations of 'Soldiers Graves' were recorded by the OS in the early 20th century and marked on the relevant maps (see LF002-011002-, LF002-011003-,LF002-011004-,LF002-011005-).
Compiled by: Paul Walsh
Date of upload: 8 January 2013
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