Siege of Carrickfergus (1689)

Siege of Carrickfergus
Part of Williamite War in Ireland
Carrickfergus Castle
Date 20–27 August 1689 Location Carrickfergus, County Antrim, Ireland Result Williamite victory. Carrickfergus surrenders
Belligerents
Williamite forces	Jacobite forces
Commanders and leaders
Marshal Schomberg	Charles MacCarthy More Cormac O'Neill
Strength
	500
Casualties and losses
200	150

The Siege of Carrickfergus took place in August 1689 when a force of Williamite troops under Marshal Schomberg landed and laid siege to the Jacobite garrison of Carrickfergus in Ireland. After a week the Jacobites surrendered, and were allowed to march out with the honours of war.

Carrickfergus was a traditional stronghold of the Crown in Ulster, commanded by the Norman-era Carrickfergus Castle. During 1689 with its Irish Army garrison, it became a refuge for Catholic inhabitants of the region to flee to as the northern rebellion against James II's rule grew. In February 1689 local Protestant forces made a failed attempt to storm the town.

After the Break of Dromore on 14 March, Richard Hamilton's royal forces had swept through Eastern Ulster bringing all of County Down and Antrim under their control. Carrickfergus and its surrounding area were securely under Jacobite rule as Hamilton advanced to lay siege to Derry, one of the few remaining Protestant strongholds in Ireland. What had initially seemed as though it would be a quick victory began to drag out through the summer, particularly as some Jacobite forces had to be diverted to confront the defenders of Enniskillen. Meanwhile, a series of relief forces were being prepared in England. Percy Kirke led an expedition to Derry, where the siege was finally broken on 28 July. In the face of this sudden defeat, Jacobite forces began to withdraw from Derry and employed a scorched earth policy as they retreated.

A second major wave of reinforcements was assembled at Chester under the veteran Huguenot commander Frederick Schomberg, 1st Duke of Schomberg. While it was originally suggested that they might head for Cork, it was decided that they should be landed in Ulster. By the time the expedition sailed from Hoylake on 12 August 1689, news of the relief of Derry had reached England. It meant that Schomberg could now act offensively. During a council of war, the expedition's officers decided to make for Belfast Lough rather than Carlingford Lough, allowing them to join up with the advancing Irish Protestant forces of Derry and Enniskillen.

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