Battle of Carrickfergus 1760
Marker: recorded battle location (no official boundary).
Key facts
| Date (year) | 1760 | Wikidata P580 start time |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 18th century | derived |
| Period | Jacobite & later | derived |
| Country | Northern Ireland | derived |
| War / conflict | Seven Years' War | Wikidata |
| Participants | Kingdom of Great Britain | Wikidata |
About the battle
The Battle of Carrickfergus took place in February 1760 in Carrickfergus, County Antrim during the Seven Years' War. A force of 600 Frenchmen led by François Thurot landed near the town, overwhelmed its small garrison of 200 soldiers of the 62nd Regiment of Foot under Lieutenant-colonel John Jennings, and captured Carrickfergus Castle.
When word of the capture reached Dublin, a small force of dragoons was despatched by the Lord Lieutenant John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford who feared, incorrectly, that it was a feint to draw British forces to the north while a main French force was to attack Cork or Dublin. Therefore, the bulk of the Irish Army remained where it was rather than marching to the assistance of Ulster.
Thurot held the town for five days, menacing nearby Belfast and demanding supplies and a ransom. In the face of the mobilisation of large numbers of local militia under General William Strode, and the appearance of a Royal Navy squadron off the coast, Thurot re-embarked his force and departed the town.
Visiting the battlefield
Location
- Recorded location (Wikidata; may be approximate): 54.7135, -5.8063
Battlefields are often on private farmland: please keep to public rights of way and respect landowners.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Carrickfergus (1760) (revision 1370436388), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; condensed by selecting paragraphs and trimming at sentence boundaries; citations removed. No text added.
Battle location from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby battlefields
- Battle of Carrickfergus 1597 · 0 km
- Battle of Antrim 1798 · 27 km
- Battle of Connor 1315 · 33 km
- Battle of Ballynahinch 1798 · 34 km
- Battle of Moira 637 · 38 km
- Battle of Aura 1583 · 49 km
Browse more: battles in Northern Ireland · Jacobite & later · 18th century battles