Vinegar Hill

The Last Stand of the Wexford Rebels of 1798

Jacqui Hynes, Ronan O'Flaherty

• Publisher: Four Courts Press
• Year: 2021
• Topic: History
• eBook ISBN:
  9781801510035
• Subtopic: Irish History
• Index: History

On 21 June 1798, 20,000 men, women, and children found themselves trapped on a hill outside Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, facing a Crown force of some 15,000 troops led by no less than four generals and 16 general officers. It was the dying days of a rebellion that had shaken British rule in Ireland to its core. The army that now surrounded the hill was determined that none should escape. Now a multi-disciplinary research programme involving archaeologists, historians, folklorists, architectural historians, and military specialists provides startling new insight into what actually happened at Vinegar Hill on that fateful day in June 1798. Using cutting-edge technology and traditional research, the sequence of the battle jumps sharply into focus, beginning with the 'shock-and awe' bombardment at dawn, the attack on Enniscorthy and the hill, and the critical defence of the bridge across the Slaney that allowed so many of the defenders on the hill to escape.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Table of contents
• Foreword: Vinegar Hill and its international legacy
• 1. Preface: the Longest Day Research Project
• 2. Who fears speak of '98? A review of the sources
• 3. Command and structure: the crown forces at the Battle of Vinegar Hill
• 4. Command and structure: a rebel republic?
• 5. Testing the theories of why the Hon. Major General Francis Needham was 'late' for the Battle of Vinegar Hill
• 6. The field of battle
• 7. The architectural landscape of Enniscorthy in 1798
• 8. Investigating potential mass graves on Vinegar Hill
• 9. The underwater surveys
• 10. Picking up the pieces: the archaeological survey of Vinegar Hill
• 11. Archaeological monitoring and licensed surveys at Vinegar Hill and Clonhasten
• 12. Oral histories of the 1798 rebellion in Enniscorthy and surrounding areas
• 13. From Vinegar Hill to Knightstown Bog: the last march of the Wexford pikeman
• Appendices
• List of illustrations
• List of abbreviations
• List of contributors
• Bibliography
• Index