Battle of the Yellow Ford
Who Fought
History & Significance
The Battle of the Yellow Ford was fought in County Armagh on 14 August 1598, during the Nine Years' War in Ireland. An English army of about 4,000, led by Henry Bagenal, was sent from the Pale to relieve the besieged Blackwater Fort. Marching from Armagh to the Blackwater, the column was routed by a Gaelic Irish army under Hugh O'Neill of Tyrone. O'Neill's forces divided the English column and a large earthwork stalled its advance. Bagenal was killed by an Irish musketeer, and scores of his men were killed and wounded when the English gunpowder wagon exploded. About 1,500 of the English army were killed and 300 deserted. After the battle, the Blackwater Fort surrendered to O'Neill. The battle marked an escalation in the war, as the English Crown greatly bolstered its military forces in Ireland, and many Irish lords who had been neutral joined O'Neill's alliance.
In 1597, the English Lord Deputy of Ireland, Thomas Burgh, built a new fort on the river Blackwater five miles northwest of the English government's garrison town Armagh. Soon after it was built, Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, laid siege to it. In 1598, with the besieged garrison running low on supplies, the English government debated whether to abandon the fort, as it was too far into O'Neill's home territory to be sustainable. It was six and a half miles from the O'Neill stronghold of Dungannon. Sir Henry Bagenal argued the fort should be re-supplied, and in early August 1598 was appointed to lead the expedition.
According to the Annals of the Four Masters: "When O'Neill had received intelligence that this great army was approaching him, he sent his messengers to O'Donnell, requesting of him to come to his assistance against this overwhelming force of foreigners who were coming to his country. O'Donnell proceeded immediately, with all his warriors, both infantry and cavalry, and a strong body of forces from Connacht, to assist his ally against those who were marching upon him. The Irish of all the province of Ulster also joined the same army, so that they were all prepared to meet the English before they arrived at Armagh".
Bagenal's army marched from Dublin to Armagh. Meanwhile, O'Neill's troops had dug trenches in the countryside between Armagh and the Blackwater fort, blocked the roads with felled trees, and set up brushwood breastworks. The countryside was hilly with drumlins and was made up of woodland, bog and some fields. In Armagh, Bagenal was aware that the five miles to the besieged fort was laced with ambush positions, but believed his army could handle the hit-and-run tactics and that he would win any pitched battle. With the main road blocked, Bagenal chose to march along a series of low hills and cross the River Callan.
The ground they fought on
The site of Battle of the Yellow Ford lies on Sherwood Sandstone Group, bedrock that formed in the Ladinian. The rock here is sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.
- England *Loyalists: 2,000 killed; 500–1,000+ wounded; Rest of the army deserted
- Irish alliance: Light
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything a full report reveals about Battle of the Yellow Ford
This page covers Battle of the Yellow Ford. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Scheduled Monuments near Battle of the Yellow Ford
Battles near Battle of the Yellow Ford
Explore the landscape around this battlefield
Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any location in the UK — drawing on Domesday records, scheduled monuments, Victorian OS maps, geological data and archaeological archives to tell the full story of a place.
- Battle of the Yellow Ford · Wikipedia