Siege of Drogheda

E57820

The Siege of Drogheda was a brutal 1649 assault by Oliver Cromwell’s Parliamentarian forces on the Irish town of Drogheda, notorious for the mass killing of its Royalist and Confederate defenders and civilians.

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Observed surface forms (2)


Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf massacre
military operation
siege
conflictOf Irish Confederate Wars
surface form: Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
defensiveFeature medieval walls and gates
followedBy Siege of Wexford
hasAftermath intimidation of other Irish towns
surrender of several garrisons without resistance
hasAlternativeName Siege of Drogheda
surface form: Storming of Drogheda
hasArtilleryUse Parliamentarian artillery breached the walls
hasAttackerStrengthApprox about 10,000 to 12,000 men
hasBelligerent English Army
surface form: English Parliamentarian forces

Irish Confederates
surface form: Irish Confederate forces

Royalist garrison
hasCasualtiesDescription significant civilian deaths
very high among Royalist and Confederate defenders
hasCommander Arthur Aston
Oliver Cromwell
hasEndDate 1649-09-11
hasGarrisonStrengthApprox about 2,500 to 3,000 men
hasHistoricalDebate extent of killings and whether civilians were deliberately targeted
hasHistoricalReputation one of the most infamous atrocities of the Cromwellian conquest
hasKeyEvent death of Arthur Aston
killing of defenders at Millmount Fort
storming of St Mary’s Church
hasLanguageOfOrders Cromwell reported that no quarter was given to those in arms
hasLegacy long-term bitterness in Irish historical memory
symbol of Cromwellian brutality in Ireland
hasLocation County Louth
Drogheda
Ireland
Leinster
hasPrimaryAttackingForce New Model Army
hasPrimarySource Cromwell’s letters to the English Parliament
hasReligiousDimension violence between largely Protestant Parliamentarians and largely Catholic Irish
hasStartDate 1649-09-03
hasTownStatusAtTime walled town
hasYear 1649
notableFor breach of the town walls
killing of civilians
mass killing of defenders
slaughter after surrender
partOf Wars of the Three Kingdoms
politicalContext English Civil War
surface form: English Civil War and Irish Confederate Wars
precededBy landing of Cromwell in Ireland at Dublin in 1649
result Parliamentarian victory
tookPlaceIn Drogheda
surface form: Drogheda town
tookPlaceNear River Boyne

Referenced by (7)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Henry Ireton battle Siege of Drogheda
Siege of Drogheda hasAlternativeName Siege of Drogheda
this entity surface form: Storming of Drogheda
Siege of Wexford precededBy Siege of Drogheda
Siege of Clonmel relatedEvent Siege of Drogheda
Irish Confederate Wars result Siege of Drogheda
this entity surface form: Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
Irish Confederate Wars significantEvent Siege of Drogheda
Wars of the Three Kingdoms significantEvent Siege of Drogheda