The Siege of Londonderry

by Piers Wauchope

ISBN: 9781801510622

Published: 2022-10-28

As Ireland descended into war in 1689, Londonderry was isolated and besieged. Unable to stop the Irish advance or to control the " ungovernable rabble" that flooded into the city, the governor deserted. The city' s defence was left to men described by their commander as " rogues" and " sons of whores" . In the desperate fighting that followed, every assault on the city' s walls ended in failure, as did every attempt to drive the Irish off. Exasperated by the inexperienced Irish officers, the French took over the siege. The city was saved by a combination of the sturdy defences and an outbreak of typhus which killed almost half the population (and all the children), a tragedy without which the city would have been starved into an early surrender. This new book casts a critical eye over these sources, and for the first time provides a thorough analysis of the wealth of material that has since come to light recently. Every aspect of the siege is held up to careful scrutiny and retold....