The Battle of Rathangan was a military engagement between the forces of the British Crown and the United Irishmen during the 1798 rebellion.
On 24 May 1798 a group of rebels from the United Irishmen led by a Captain Doorley attacked the town of Rathangan, County Kildare, which was being defended by a small corps of yeomanry led by Captain James Spencer; the rebels held the town for four days.[1] On 28 May 1798 two squadrons of the 7th Dragoon Guards were sent to re-capture the town. The commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Stephen Mahon, took one squadron into the town while the other waited outside. A pitched battle then took place with heavy losses on both sides.[2]
References
- ^ O'Kelly, Patrick (1842). General History of the Rebellion of 1798, with Many Interesting Occurrences of the two preceding years. J. Downes. p. 85.
Battle of Rathangan.
- ^ "7th Dragoon Guards". British Empire. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
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