Battle of the Ford of the Biscuits 1594
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1594 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | Northern Ireland | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Nine Years' War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 54.2770, -7.6390 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of the Ford of the Biscuits (Irish: Bel-atha-na-mBriosgadh) took place in Fermanagh, Ireland on 7 August 1594, during the Nine Years' War. A column of almost 650 English troops led by Sir Henry Duke was ambushed and defeated by a Gaelic Irish force under Hugh Maguire and Cormac MacBaron O'Neill at the Arney River. The English column had been sent to relieve and resupply Enniskillen Castle, which had been under siege by the Irish since May. The English suffered at least 56 killed and 69 wounded, and were forced to make a hasty retreat.
The battle gained its name because the supplies of the English, largely hard biscuits, were left scattered and floating in the river. The battle was an early engagement of the Nine Years' War, and exposed the vulnerability of the English to ambushes in the wilder parts of Ulster with its thick woods and bogs.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of the Ford of the Biscuits (revision 1370599580), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Siege of Enniskillen (1594) 1594 · 8 km
- Battle of Magh Slecht 1256 · 17 km
- Battle of Newtownbutler 1689 · 21 km
- Battle of Clones 1643 · 28 km
- Battle of Belleek 1593 · 37 km
- Battle of Áth an Chip 1270 · 42 km
Other battles of the Nine Years' War
- Battle of Belleek 1593
- Siege of Enniskillen (1594) 1594
- Battle of Carrickfergus (1597) 1597
- Battle of the Yellow Ford 1598
- Battle of Curlew Pass 1599
- Siege of Cahir Castle 1599
- Battle of Moyry Pass 1600
- Battle of Castlehaven 1601
- Siege of Donegal 1601
- Siege of Kinsale 1601
All 41 battles of the Nine Years' War →
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