Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
The Diary of Bonnivert, 1690 (Author: Gédéon Bonnivert)
entry 10
Thursday being the 3rd of July, we came near a fine house belonging to a papist where we encamped, and where I fell sick of a violent fever and an extreme fit of the gout in the same time. I was sent to Dublin, where I stayed till Saturday, the 12th, that I went in the company of the adjutant-general of the Danish forces to rejoin our army. That day I went to Kilcullen-bridge, sixteen long miles from Dublin. I passed through the Naas, a good, big borough. At Kilcullen-bridge, I found our army encamped, and there we stayed one night, and the next day we marched but eight mile. There, my
sickness continuing, or indeed rather increasing, I was forced to go to Castledermot; it has been the seat of some of the kings of Leinster, but now is a poor beggarly town, though in a very pretty plain. Eight miles beyond it upon the highway is the burying place of the kings of Leinster, and there you may see the vaults still full of bones, and some old inscriptions upon large stones.33 Our army went before Waterford and, after the town was surrendered, the king
went to lay the siege before Limerick, whilst General Douglas34 was gone to
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endeavour with part of our army to take Athlone, but he had no better
success there than our men at Limerick, where, through the ill-management of Captain Poultney, who, having had the conduct of eight big pieces of artillery and several other provisions, unadvisedly ordered his detachment to unbridle and turn the horses to grass, for Sarsfield having notice of this fell upon 'em with a very considerable party and cut most of the men to pieces,35 took the cannon, nailed them, burned the carriages and all the ammunitions, and so caused by so long a delay, and the weather growing had, to raise the siege. The king, having left that place, with the loss of many men, took shipping for England. Not long after my Lord Marlborough came from England with 8,000 men, and besieged Cork; he was not long before it, for it was soon taken, but we had a great loss by the Duke of Grafton,36 who died a few days after of a wound in his side, before Kinsale. After the raising of the siege of Limerick, I came along with our troop, thinking (as the order was then) to have gone for England, but after my staying the matter of three months, I went to Lurgan, in the north of Ireland, and was quartered between Litsenagarry37 and Lurgan in the parish of Ballinderry.