Battle of the Ford of the Biscuits

The Battle of the Ford of the Biscuits, 7 Aug. 1594: 1: Irish shot engage and halt the head of the column but are eventually forced to give ground due to a determined English pike charge. 2: Irish shot force in the English loose shot and disorder the pikemen. 3: Irish pikemen and Scots charge into the disordered rear forcing it onto the main battle and then the van. 4: English army makes it to low ground. Under fire from the surrounding heights, the English attack south but are forced to cross further upstream. 5: Incongruously the Irish horse played no part in the battle

Date	7 August 1594
Location	Arney River, County Fermanagh, Ireland 54°16′37″N 7°38′20″W / 54.277°N 7.639°W / 54.277; -7.639Coordinates: 54°16′37″N 7°38′20″W / 54.277°N 7.639°W / 54.277; -7.639
Result	Decisive rebel victory

Belligerents

Ireland

Maguire's rebels

Commanders and leaders

Sir Henry Duke

Sir Edward Herbert

Hugh Maguire
Cormac MacBaron O'Neill

Strength

640

1,000+

Sir Henry Duke

The Battle of the Ford of the Biscuits took place in County Fermanagh, Ireland on 7 August 1594 when a force of Irish Army soldiers led by Sir Henry Duke was ambushed and defeated by an Irish force under Hugh Maguire and Cormac MacBaron O'Neill in the region of the fords of the Arney River on the approaches to Enniskillen. Duke's men were a relief column for the town which had been under siege since May.

The battle acquired its distinctive name due to the supplies of the Crown forces, largely hard biscuits, which were scattered and left floating in the river. The battle was an early exchange of Tyrone's Rebellion, and exposed the vulnerability of Crown forces to ambushes in the wilder parts of Ulster with its thick woods and bogs.

As part of the Tudor reform programme in Ireland, a policy of surrender and regrant was introduced that involved the formal submission of the Gaelic lords to the Crown. Fermanagh was shired as a county and elements of English law were introduced to replace Brehon Law overseen by Hugh Maguire the Gaelic Lord of Enniskillen. The Maguire revolt grew out of his resentment at the introduction of English law which reduced his overlordship over his weaker neighbours, and particularly the activities of a local sheriff, Captain Humphrey Willis who was known for his heavy-handed behavior.

Maguire launched his rebellion by sacking the lands of his neighbours. The government responded by sending a force under the Marshal of Ireland, Sir Henry Bagenal to confront the rebels. The leading Gaelic lord of Ulster, Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone also led forces into the field, and alongside his estranged brother in law Bagenal defeated the rebels at the Battle of the Erne Fords in 1593. Maguire's capital at Enniskillen was captured in February 1594 by an English force led by Captain John Dowdall, who massacred the Irish occupants after they had surrendered. Maguire then agreed to submit, and an agreement was brokered by Tyrone. However the peace did not last long and Maguire, Red Hugh O'Donnell and Cormac MacBaron (Tyrone's brother) laid siege to Enniskillen in June 1594. A relief force was dispatched to aid the stranded garrison.

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