The Rebels of Ireland (46 page)

The cannon did not even pause, but pounded the church tower below instead. By noon it looked like a jagged, broken tooth, and the cannon began to bombard the nearby bastion at the corner of the city wall. This was a sturdier structure by far. But the cannon kept up their steady work, hour after hour, never pausing, all afternoon and into the evening. As the acrid smoke drifted across from the battery towards the city, Drogheda's mighty corner tower, which had withstood every assault for centuries, slowly crumbled down. Shortly before dusk, the gunners turned their attention to the walls and made two breaches high up in them.

That night, Aston had parties of men repair the breaches in the walls, replacing the stones and pouring on extra mortar. At dawn, however, a much larger work began in which half the garrison joined in with urgency. The men dug three big lines of trenches a little way back from the wall that had been breached. Behind each trench, the earth thrown up was formed into a parapet, behind which the musketeers could take cover.

Though such work was normally done by the infantry, Walter joined in and nobody stopped him. Spade in hand, working along-
side men who were mostly half his age, his portly form unused to such exertion, the early morning found him red-faced and sweating, but happy that he could make himself useful. The trenches ran to the walled churchyard. Behind the lines rose the steep, high mound, topped with its little fort.

Early in the morning came news that a small group of aristocrats had urged Aston to surrender. He had thrown them out of the town by one of the northern gates.

“How can he surrender?” one of the officers cried. “If mighty Drogheda gives up, what other town would stand and fight?”

At that moment, the thunder of a cannon was heard and the first salvo of the day thudded into the wall.

All morning, as grey clouds crowded into the sky above, and the crash of cannonballs sent small showers of masonry down from the wall, they dug the trenches and raised the parapets.

The walls of Drogheda did not come down easily. In places they were six feet thick. But the medieval mix of stone, rubble, and mortar, strong though it was, could not rebuff the steady pounding of the cannonballs—hundreds of them—that went on hour after hour. Gradually, they crumbled into great, untidy heaps at the base. By midafternoon, the men at the trenches could see through the big, jagged chasm to the enemy camp on the slopes opposite.

Shortly before five o'clock, Aston came down amongst the diggers, hobbling about on his wooden leg and telling them to prepare.

“They'll make their assault through the gap,” he announced, “but they'll have to climb across the rubble on foot. It's too high for cavalry. You'll shoot them down easily enough. Mark my words.”

Behind the trenches, Walter's cavalry troop had appeared. Cleaning the mud off his face and clothes as best he could, he went back to join them. As he did so, he realised that the cannon had ceased to fire. A strange quiet hung in the air. Aston was behind the trenches now, placing the men.

He placed musketeers behind the two back parapets and in the churchyard. In the first line were the men with pikes. It took a powerful man to handle a pike, which was sixteen feet long, with a heavy shaft and a fearsome steel spike. Walter had once asked a burly pike-man to let him try one, and had almost fallen over with the weight of the thing. But in the hands of an expert, it was a terrible weapon to encounter. As the enemy troops clambered up to the first parapet and were stopped by the pikes, they'd either be gouged by the spikes or cut down by musket fire from the churchyard and the two parapets behind. And that fire would be deadly. Even with their cumbersome matchlocks and flintlocks, each trained musketeer could fire three times a minute.

The silence continued. As he waited, Walter could feel his heart beating. To his own surprise, he found he was almost too excited to be frightened.

There were shouts outside the wall. He saw the metal helmets of the Roundheads coming into the breach and over the mound of rubble. A hundred, two hundred—he was not sure. He heard Aston's voice cut through the air.

“Wait, musketeers. Wait.” The first wave was over the rubble; the second was in the breach now. He saw their officer, a handsome, grey-haired man. “Fire.”

It was well done. The first salvo caught them and brought fifty men down. The grey-haired officer fell as a musket ball shattered his head.

“Fire.” Another salvo from the third parapet, and another mass of men going down. There were screams and cries everywhere. He saw half a dozen men horribly caught on the pikes. No wonder the advance guard of an attack like this was known as “the Forlorn Hope.” The soldiers coming over the breach now and seeing the carnage before them seemed to be hesitating.

“At the breach. Fire.” Another deadly salvo caught them. And now, suddenly, the Roundheads were turning back. The men in the breach were already scrambling to safety, but the musketeers in the
churchyard, firing freely, were picking them off. A cheer went up from the Royalists. The Roundheads were on the run.

“Reload. They'll come again. Cavalry, load your pistols.” Aston's voice, clear and precise.

Like most of the mounted men, Walter had been given two pistols, which sat in holsters on each side of his saddle. He primed them now, and kept one in his hand. Several minutes passed before the Roundheads came again. They came faster this time, and there were more of them. The first wave came right up to the line of pikes before Aston called out: “Fire.” And again they were caught in the withering hail of musket balls. “Cavalry, fire at will. Aim for your man.”

Walter rested the long barrel of his pistol on his spare arm to steady it. In practice with his comrades, he had discovered he had an aptitude for this. He saw a fellow who had just reached the pikes, took careful aim, and pulled the trigger. He had aimed at the chest but struck the head. With a surge of triumph, he saw the man go down. I wish, he thought proudly, that my family could see me now. Moments later, another cheer went up. The Roundheads had been broken again.

“Reload,” called Aston. But this time there was a lengthening silence. Perhaps the Roundheads, having been mauled twice, had given up for the day.

There were two batteries opposite the breach. One lay on the level ground and had been directing its fire up at the walls. The other was on the slopes behind and looked down towards the breach. From this battery Walter now saw a puff of smoke.

A tremendous hissing. A jolt as his horse was struck. Ripping sounds, terrible screams. Then he was falling. As he hit the ground, he heard another terrible hiss. More screams. Horses were rearing.

Cromwell's cannon on the slopes had been filled with half-pound shot, and they were pouring it through the breach into the cavalry. Walter had hardly got to his feet before he saw a mass of men rushing through the breach. Clearly, they meant to overwhelm the trenches by sheer force of numbers. The muskets rang out, but
in the confusion now, their volley sounded more ragged. He looked down. His poor horse was already dead. All around him were writhing horses and men. There was blood everywhere. He felt light-headed, though he was sure he hadn't been hit. A hand was pulling on his arm.

“Come on, Granddad. We're falling back.”

He understood, but for a moment he stood there stupidly. And as he did so, he saw on top of the breach a single officer in a leather coat, sword in hand, his long, greying hair blowing in the wind. And he knew at once who this must be.

Oliver Cromwell himself had got off his horse and come to lead his men in person through the deadly breach of Drogheda.

His pistol. It was still in the holster by his saddle. He dived down to where his horse lay and retrieved it. Then, with the pistol grasped in his hand, he rose again. Cromwell was still there, waving his men forward with his sword. Walter took aim.

And, as though in a dream, he stood paralysed. His finger was pulling the trigger, but nothing seemed to be happening. How could that be? He tried again. Something in the simple mechanism had jammed.

“Granddad. Come quickly.” The fellow pulled him so hard, he almost lost his balance, and as he did so, the pistol went off, sending a ball high into the air. He cursed, and staggered to where he was being led. Some of the rest of his troop had gathered on foot. As soon as he reached them, they took him in charge and started to leave. The first parapet was being overrun. The musketeers were discharging their weapons and then falling back. As he was hurried away from the scene, Walter saw Aston hobbling on his wooden leg with a company of his men back towards the high mound with its little fort. He wondered if he should join him, but two of his comrades dragged him on. They were hurrying up the street towards the river. The drawbridge was ahead.

“We'd better get across the drawbridge before they raise it, Granddad,” one of his companions cried. Once that was up, those
left behind would have to fight as best they could, but Cromwell's men would be unable to follow them. The river was deep and the walls of the northern town were stout. It would be a safe refuge, for a while at least. As they reached the drawbridge, however, a great crowd of musketeers and pikemen caught up with them, and glancing backwards, Walter could see the leather jerkins and metal helmets of Cromwell's troops close on their heels. They thundered across the drawbridge pell-mell.

Only as he ran into the main street of the northern town did Walter realise. No one had raised the drawbridge. As the defenders fled over the River Boyne, into the northern sector, Cromwell's men were crossing, too. He turned and cried out, “Raise the drawbridge,” but nobody took any notice, and the press of men made it impossible to do anything as he was swept along.

Some way ahead rose the big church of Saint Peter. His companions swung left into the cross-street that led to the western of the northern sector's two gates. A short way along this street lay a turning down to the inn where they had lodged. Two of his companions had left money at the inn, so they hurried to reach it. “At least we'll have the money if we have to run,” they told him. The innkeeper, having heard the commotion but unaware of exactly what was happening, was busy closing the shutters. When Walter quickly told him, the fellow cried: “I must get Mary.” She was at a neighbour's house down the same street.

“Close up your inn,” Walter told him. “I'll get the child.” And he hurried away.

It only took a minute or two to extract little Mary from the neighbour's house. Holding her hand firmly, he started back the short distance towards the inn. He had almost forgotten that he still had a sword banging at his side until he realised that it had nearly banged against the child; so, scooping her up, he carried her towards her home.

The mass of the soldiers were still in the main street. They had not come that way as yet. His companions were standing with the
innkeeper by the door. He was fifty yards away when the party of Roundheads in their heavy leathers came bursting from the street into the lane. Seeing the Royalist soldiers, they set up a roar and rushed towards them, so that his friends only just had time to draw their swords. He heard one of the Roundheads yell, “Papist dogs,” and heard the innkeeper swear a curse before the Roundheads fell upon them. There was a ringing crash and bang of swords, more bangs, shouts, a terrible cry, and a scream. It happened so fast, he could scarcely believe it. He saw his friends go down, and the innkeeper, too. No doubt they thought he was one of the soldiers.

Instinctively, as the soldiers appeared, he pulled back into a doorway and held little Mary close, with her face to his chest, so that she should not see. He waited there for several moments, wondering if the Roundheads would come that way, but they did not. At last, carefully looking out, he saw that they had gone. But he could hear shouting from the street from which they'd come. Her father's body lay with the others in front of the inn. He could hardly leave her there, then. He began to retrace his steps towards the neighbours where he had found her. No doubt they would take her in. But now he could see Roundhead uniforms in the street at the end of the lane near the neighbours. He dared not go that way. There was an empty alley beside him that led westwards. He stepped into it and began to make his way along. The only thing to do was to keep the child with him until he could find a place of safety for her.

Perhaps it would still be possible to get out of the western gate. Had Cromwell's men reached that yet? Or had he now managed to send troops across the deep waters of the Boyne to encircle the town and cut off such retreats? He did not know.

“Your granddad's taking you for a little walk,” he whispered to little Mary. “Then we'll meet your father.” And he forced himself to smile.

Cautiously, he went along the alley, wondering where it led.