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Siege of Drogheda 1649

Siege of Drogheda: Drogheda 1649
Image: Gardiner, Samuel Rawson and F.S. Weller (illustrator), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Marker: recorded battle location (no official boundary).

Key facts

Date3 September 1649 – 11 September 1649Wikidata
Date (year)1649Wikidata P580 start time
Century17th centuryderived
PeriodCivil Warsderived
CountryIrelandderived
War / conflictIrish Confederate WarsWikidata

About the battle

The Siege of Drogheda, 3 to 11 September 1649, took place at the start of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. The port of Drogheda was held by a mixed garrison of Irish Catholics and Royalists under the command of Sir Arthur Aston, when it was besieged by English Commonwealth forces under Oliver Cromwell.

After Aston rejected an invitation to surrender, the town was stormed and much of the garrison executed, along with an unknown but "significant number" of civilians. Its aftermath is viewed as an atrocity which still impacts Cromwell's modern reputation.

Visiting the battlefield

Location

  • Recorded location (Wikidata; may be approximate): 53.7139, -6.3503

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Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Drogheda (revision 1379481256), 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

Other battles of the Irish Confederate Wars

All battles of the Irish Confederate Wars →

Browse more: battles in County Meath · battles in Ireland · Civil Wars · 17th century battles

Further reading