Battle of Castlebar 1798
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Marker: recorded battle location (no official boundary).
Key facts
| Date (year) | 1798 | Wikidata P585 point in time |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 18th century | derived |
| Period | Jacobite & later | derived |
| Country | Ireland | derived |
| War / conflict | Irish Rebellion of 1798 | Wikidata |
About the battle
The Battle of Castlebar was a military engagement of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, which occurred on 27 August 1798 near the town of Castlebar, County Mayo. A combined force of approximately 800 French troops and 2,000 United Irishmen rebels, commanded by Jean Joseph Amable Humbert, routed a British Crown force numbering from 3,000 to 5,000 men, led by Gerard Lake, 1st Viscount Lake, in what would later become known as the "Castlebar Races" or "Races of Castlebar".
During the battle, the French, although they had veterans in the ranks, fought in an exhausted state after long mountain marches, and the United Irishmen were exhausted for the same reason; Lake's army was in an advantageous defensive position but at the same time had a significant number of untrained Irish militiamen in their ranks, which were routed in the face of the Franco-United Irishmen assault. Lake's army included such regular regiments as the Fraser Fencibles, Roden's Fencible Cavalry Dragoons, the 6th Regiment of Foot and the Royal Irish Artillery; all four were engaged at Castlebar and, though fruitlessly, they offered serious resistance, in contrast to the militia regiments.
Visiting the battlefield
Location
- Recorded location (Wikidata; may be approximate): 53.8608, -9.2989
Battlefields are often on private farmland: please keep to public rights of way and respect landowners.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Castlebar (revision 1379591674), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations removed. No text added.
Battle location from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby battlefields
- Battle of Killala 1798 · 39 km
- Battle of Collooney 1798 · 64 km
- Battle of Curlew Pass 1599 · 66 km
- Battle of Creadran Cille 1257 · 71 km
- First Battle of Athenry 1249 · 71 km
- Second Battle of Athenry 1316 · 71 km
Other battles of the Irish Rebellion of 1798
- Battle of Antrim 1798
- Battle of Arklow 1798
- Battle of Ballinamuck 1798
- Battle of Ballynahinch 1798
- Battle of Carlow 1798
- Battle of Collooney 1798
- Battle of Enniscorthy 1798
- Battle of Killala 1798
- Battle of New Ross 1798
- Battle of Oulart Hill 1798
All battles of the Irish Rebellion of 1798 →
Browse more: battles in Ireland · Jacobite & later · 18th century battles