Siege of Athlone (1690) 1690
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 17 July 1690 – 24 July 1690 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1690 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | Ireland | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Williamite War in Ireland | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 53.4333, -7.9500 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The siege of Athlone was part of the Williamite War in Ireland between the supporters of King James II, who were known as Jacobites, and the supporters of King William of Orange. The siege began on 17 July 1690, when Williamite Lieutenant-General James Douglas arrived outside the Jacobite held city of Athlone with ten regiments of foot and five regiments of horse for a total force of 12,000. The Governor of Athlone, Colonel Richard Grace decided to defend the western part of the city. The Jacobite troops destroyed the bridge over the Shannon River that connected the eastern and western parts of the city, before the Williamite Army arrived. The city's garrison consisted of three regiments of foot and eleven troops of horse for a total force of about 4,500.
General Douglas sent a messenger to Colonel Grace demanding he surrender the city. Colonel Grace responded by firing a pistol shot over the head of the messenger and stating "These are my terms; these only, I will give or receive, and when my provisions are consumed, I will defend till I eat my old boots." General Douglas commenced a bombardment of the city with twelve cannon and two mortars, the city of Athlone's guns returned fire.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Athlone (1690) (revision 1370739061), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Siege of Athlone (1691) 1691 · 0 km
- Battle of Aughrim 1691 · 29 km
- Battle of Meelick Island 1650 · 31 km
- Battle of Ballinamuck 1798 · 51 km
- Second Battle of Athenry 1316 · 55 km
- First Battle of Athenry 1249 · 55 km
Other battles of the Williamite War in Ireland
- Battle of Bantry Bay 1689
- Battle of Newtownbutler 1689
- Siege of Carrickfergus 1689
- Siege of Derry 1689
- Battle of the Boyne 1690
- Siege of Cork 1690
- Siege of Limerick (1690) 1690
- Battle of Aughrim 1691
- Siege of Athlone (1691) 1691
- Siege of Limerick (1691) 1691
All 11 battles of the Williamite War in Ireland →
Browse more: battles in Ireland · Europe · Early modern battles