Battle of Carrickfergus (1760)

Who Fought

History & Significance

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.

Thurot was subsequently killed during the Battle of Bishops Court, but his feat in landing on enemy soil was widely hailed in France and he became a national hero, partly because his perceived daring was in sharp contrast to the incompetence shown by French naval officers at the recent Battle of Quiberon Bay.

Longmate, Norman. Island Fortress: The Defence of Great Britain, 1603-1945. HarperCollins, 1993

McLynn, Frank. 1759: The Year Britain Became Master of the World. Pimlico, 2005.

Rodger NAM. Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain, 1649-1815. Penguin Books, 2006.

Bartlett, Thomas; Jeffery, Keith (1997). A Military History of Ireland. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521629898.

The ground they fought on

The site of Battle of Carrickfergus (1760) lies on Mercia Mudstone Group, bedrock that formed in the Rhaetian. The rock here is mudstone, sandstone and limestone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Scheduled Monuments near Battle of Carrickfergus (1760)

Boundary wall of joymount gardens

Scheduled monument · POST-MED · ~0.4 mi

Boundary wall of Joymount Gardens is a post-medieval defensive wall in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, constructed to enclose the gardens of a substantial residential property. Built from locally quarried stone derived from the underlying Mercia Mudstone Group geology of the area, the wall reflects…

Fisherman's quay. stone quay

Scheduled monument · MODERN · ~0.6 mi

Fisherman's Quay is a modern stone quay located in Carrickfergus, County Antrim. Built upon Early Triassic sandstone bedrock, the structure reflects the historical importance of this coastal settlement as a trading and fishing port. The red sandstone geology underlying the site is characteristic…

Kilroot church, kilrothe, kille rootha. modern church & graveyard on site of early monastic site & medieval parish church & graveyard with bullaun & holy well

Scheduled monument · E.CHRIST. · ~2.7 mi

Kilroot Church is an ecclesiastical site of considerable antiquity near Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland. The modern church and graveyard occupy the location of an early monastic settlement, followed by a medieval parish church with its associated graveyard. The site preserves evidence of its reli…

Barrow

Scheduled monument · BRONZE AGE · ~3.7 mi

Barrow is a Bronze Age burial mound situated in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, in the townland of Greenisland. The monument stands on bedrock of the Mercia Mudstone Group, a geological formation laid down during the Rhaetian age and comprising mudstone, sandstone and limestone. These underlying de…

Lislaynan, templecorran church, temple-i-corran. post-med church on site of medieval parish church & graveyard

Scheduled monument · POST-MED · ~4.6 mi

Templecorran Church is a post-medieval ecclesiastical site located in Larne, County Antrim, occupying the location of a medieval parish church and its associated graveyard. The church represents a continuity of religious use at this spot spanning centuries, with the medieval structures eventually…

Rath

Scheduled monument · E.CHRIST. · ~5.5 mi

Rath — a e.christ. rath is an early Christian ringfort located in Newtownabbey, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The monument sits upon bedrock comprising the Hibernian Greensands Formation and Ulster White Limestone Formation, Late Cretaceous deposits of chalk and sandstone that underlie much of…

Other modern Battles

Battles near Battle of Carrickfergus (1760)

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• Battle of Carrickfergus (1760) · Wikipedia