Cromwell undertook the mission, knowing full well what the outcome would be. The case for the defence is firstly, that what Cromwell did in Ireland was in accordance with well-established military codes of practice; that he was one of the most restrained of all the commanders in Ireland in the early modern period; that the denial of quarter to the garrisons at Drogheda and Wexford was intended to prevent future bloodshed, and that they succeeded in doing so; that civilians killed were, in modern terms, collateral injuries occasioned by the circumstances of a town being stormed; and finally that he cannot be held accountable for later atrocities in Ireland in the s.
His message was clear: no surrender, no quarter. This was fully in accord with the laws of war. The granting of quarter to those who laid down their arms in the English Civil War was the exception to the general European rule. Indeed, the tradition in Ireland was to deny quarter even when it had been promised. Cromwell cannot be called a war criminal in those circumstances. Immediately after Drogheda, Cromwell summonsed DundaIk to surrender and, when it did, kept his troops under tight control.
By the time he reached Wexford, three more towns had surrendered on terms to himself or his officers. Governor Synott of Wexford knew what to expect. There is a dispute about whether the negotiations — which the Governor was spinning out in the hope that relieving forces might arrive — had formally been broken off when Cromwell stormed the town. The consequences of the storming were according to the laws of war then prevailing. He was in Ireland for nine months and took 28 towns.
He denied quarter and sacked only Drogheda and Wexford; he offered generous terms elsewhere and honoured them to the letter whenever they were accepted. Most remarkable was his restraint at ClonmeI. He lost more than 2, men in a foiled assault there.
He then took the town on terms and honoured them, although perhaps retreating soldiers were chased and killed. It may be that Drogheda and Wexford were his Hiroshima and Nagasaki: the application of an economy of evil to save more lives in the long run.
In the 17th century, as in the 20th century, that is a morally contested view. But it has not led to trials for war crimes. The intention was honourable. Fourthly, the evidence for civilian deaths is far less clear than the evidence of the killing in cold blood of disarmed and surrendered combatants. There is only circumstantial and hearsay evidence that civilians — other than clergy — were killed in cold blood. To convict Cromwell of war crimes requires evidence of civilians killed in cold blood.
Fifthly, there is a tendency to blame Cromwell for all the horrors in Ireland in the s. There were certainly atrocities after his departure. General Fleetwood introduced a policy of reprisals which pre-echoes Nazi cruelty. If an English soldier was killed by snipers or Tories bandits , then the nearest community was given 24 or 48 hours to hand over those responsible for summary execution, or they were all seized and transported into slavery.
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Comments Show Comments. Read this next History. News of the violent sacking of Drogheda prompted nearby garrisons Dundalk, Carlingford, Newry and Trim to surrender without a fight. Cromwell subsequently headed south where he successfully took Wexford on October 11th. His troops gained entry to the town as the defenders were divided on the terms of settlement with Cromwell.
One commander, Captain Strafford, opened the gates to Cromwell's troops. Allegedly, they then slaughtered 2, soldiers and civilians in the town. By the end of January , Cromwell controlled almost the entire eastern, northern and southern coasts with the exception of Waterford. Soon after, he captured Fethard and Cashel. By March, despite spirited resistance from the defenders, Cromwell captured Kilkenny and Clonmel. The disintegration of the royalist war effort in Ireland and news that Charles Stuart had reached an agreement with the Scots meant that Cromwell now had to turn his attention to Scotland.
Cromwell and his commanders were able to complete the English conquest of Ireland over the course of three years He returned to England in May after nine months in Ireland. With the area north-west of Dublin under Parliamentarian control, and troops under Colonel Venables advancing to Ulster, Cromwell marched south from Dublin in order to sieze the major seaports of Leinster and Munster.
Caught unawares, the garrison fled, allowing the Parliamentarian support fleet safe passage into Wexford Bay, whereupon the heavy siege artillery was unloaded south of the town.
Colonel Synnott played for time, hoping for support to arrive. However, upon meeting to finalise the surrender, Synnott proposed changes and negotiations broke down. By the afternoon of 11 October, whilst Cromwell was still engaged in negaotiations, the castle walls were breached by artillery fire and the town stormed.
Many Irish soldiers and civilians were killed, and ships, artillery, ammunition and supplies captured. Cromwell had planned to use Wexford as winter quarters for his army, however the damage caused during the sacking of the town was so severe that it was deemed uninhabitable, and the port unusable.
Having been summoned to return urgently to England, to help defend against the threat of a Royalist invasion from the Scots army, Cromwell wanted to take Clonmell quickly, rather than allow a protracted siege. To the south the town was protected by a mix of smaller defences and by the River Suir.
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