Robert Craufurd was at times his own worst enemy suffering from, to use his own words, attacks of 'the blue devils'- frequent bouts of depression. One such crisis occurred while he was in India. He wrote to his brother Charles, to whom he was very close, informing him that he was totally disillusioned with the Army and that he intended to sell his commission.

Charles advised him in vain against such a course of action. This advice was ignored and the proceeds of the sale, together with a small legacy, were invested in 1794 by Craufurd in a business venture which failed. As a result he was without a job and had no private means. So, to support himself financially, he helped his brother Charles to administer English subsidies to the Austrian army.

After a short while he found himself longing to rejoin the Army at his previous rank. This was not an easy matter. He ultimately resolved the problem by joing Hompesch's regiment, a Swiss mercenary regiment, and thence back into the British Army via the 60th. This solution returned him to active service, but did nothing to resolve the problem of loss of seniority which was to haunt him for the rest of his life. Having returned to the Army, he was appointed DQMG in Ireland in 1797 armed with useful experience gained from his work attached to the Austrian mission.

What was going on in Ireland at this time? By the spring of 1796, it was clear that the British government had no intention of granting emancipation to the Catholics which resulted in much lawlessness and crime. The country was verging on anarchy. The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Camden, had few troops at his disposal to sort out this problem and those he had were from a poorly-trained, ill-officered militia and were scattered around the country. The French were keeping a watchful eye on events. At the end of 1796 they had tried to mount an unsuccessful invasion at Bantry Bay but to the disappointment of the rebels, not one soldier left the ships.

The situation continued to deteriorate and in 1797, Lord Camden, the Viceroy, asked Horse Guards, without success, for more regular troops. His problems were not helped by the Society of United Irishmen, one of the many rebel groupings, who were corrupting Irish recruits in British pay. There was a personnel problem too. The Lord Lieutenant considered that his current military com mander in chief, Lord Carhampton, had not sufficient talents to deal with military situation. The authorities in London were made aware of the need for an effective replacement for him. But nobody wanted the job: Sir Charles Grey refused, on account of his age; Sir David Dundas did not want to leave England and Lord Cornwallis, Master General of the Ordnance, disapproved of government policy towards Ireland. The post eventually went to Sir Ralph Abercrombie, who had recently returned from the West Indies, and on 12 December 1797 he reluctantly accepted the post.

First Job

Robert Craufurd's first job in the new regime was to accompany Sir Ralph on a tour from Dublin to Cork to take stock of the military situation and to prepare a topographical brief for the government. The report noted the fact that many of the fortifications were in a poor state of repair. One of the reasons for Sir Ralph's reluctance to accept the post of Commander in Chief was that the post was not an independent command, ie all military decisions had to be approved by the Viceroy in Dublin Castle. The London authorities denied this, but local commanders continued to address their correspondence to the Viceroy rather than the Commander in Chief, as they had always done. On his first trip it was clear that, to add to Sir Ralph's problems, discipline among the local troops was appalling.

On his return to Dublin Abercrombie issued a general order to all concerned. The drafting bears all the hallmarks of Robert Craufurd.

The very disgraceful frequency of courts martial and the many complaints of irregularities in the conduct of the troops in this kingdom have too unfortunately proved the army to be in a state of licentiousness which must render it formidable to every-one but the enemy. The commander in chief thinks it necessary to demand from all the generals commanding district and brigade, as well as commanding officers of regiments that they exert for themselves, and compel from all officers under their command, the strident and most unremitting attention to the discipline, good order and conduct of their men, as may restore the high and distinguished reputation which the British troops have been accustomed to enjoy in every part of the world.

Although the need for such an order was justified it caused consternation in official circles on both sides of the water. Craufurd realised that to recall Abercrombie at this stage would have been an unmitigated disaster and wrote to his friend William Wickham,

I most perfectly agree with you that Sir Ralph Abercrombie's recall or resignation in the present situation in Ireland would be in the highest degree prejudicial to the welfare of the Empire, whatever might be the cause. 6 The order which has occasioned so much dissatisfaction was given out, as you know, immediately after Sir Ralph's return from a tour through the southern and western parts of the kingdom, during which he had been forcibly struck with the great want of discipline in several regiments.

Camden, the Viceroy, was, however, determined that Abercrombie should be replaced by a strong and experienced successor but, in a surprise move, the Viceroy himself was replaced in June. The government had the good sense on l3th June to appoint Lord Cornwallis, despite the latter's earlier reservations, as joint viceroy/commander in chief. Strong leadership was indeed necessary as assassinations were becoming commonplace. The situation was further complicated when, on 20th May, Lord Edward Fitzgerald, the military leader of the rebels was betrayed by a colleague, arrested, tried and executed.

The peasants in Kildare, Wicklow and Wexford rose up. General Gerard Lake ordered Craufurd to collect a detachment of troops from Kilkenny and surrounding districts and to march against the rebels in Wexford, the centre of their activities. On reaching Kilkenny, Craufurd found no troops. He therefore joined General Johnson at New Ross, whose troops consisted of the County of Dublin Militia with detachments from the Clare, Donegal and Meath Regiments of Militia, the 5th Dragoons, the Mid-Lothian Fencibles and a detachment of Royal Artillery, together totalling 1,400 men. The reinforced garrison remained under arms all night on the 4th June, the rebels having bivouacked within 10 miles of the town. Early the next day the rebel leader sent a formal summons to Johnson to surrender the town. Unfortunately, the messenger was shot while the truce was in effect. The rebels were furious and moved quickly, driven by inspired fanaticism from their priests. Craufurd's account of the battle in a despatch to Lake tells the story of the battle.

The insurgents yesterday morning attacked the place in great force and with great vigour. They behaved in a manner that one could only have expected from them. In their first attacks they seemed quite regardless of fire. They succeeded in forcing part of the position and drew the troops who had been posted round the outside of Ross, quite back into the town, and they took four or five guns. By the great personal exertions of General Johnson, the troops were brought forward again and the enemy driven out of the town. They frequently renewed the attack, but with less vigour than the first. After an action of several hours, they were completely driven off and our guns retaken, and one iron gun from the ship's cannon taken from the enemy. Their loss in killed is very great.

The New Ross action was won and the rebels defeated. In his despatch to General Lake, Johnson stated that, among others, Colonel Craufurd is entitled to my fullest praise.

Notwithstanding this measure of approbation, Craufurd, not for the last time upset his commander. He wrote later to his friend William Wickham,

You will perhaps have heard that I have lately been tried by a court martial and honourably acquitted. I was accused by Major General Johnson of disobedience of orders and treating him with disrespect. I had the satisfaction to find my conduct in the whole affair perfectly approved of

His assessment of the rebels' capability before and after the action is worth noting Before the attack they made on us the other day, I had so contemptible opinion of them, but I have now totally changed my opinion. I never saw troops attack with more enthusiasm and bravery than the rebels did on the 5th.

On 21st June, Lake successfully attacked and defeated the rebel army at Vinegar Hill. This battle ended the insurrection as a serious movement for the time being although the Irish problems had not gone unnoticed south of the English Channel. Wolf Tone, an Irish folk hero, had been living in France, keeping the Directoire abreast of the nationalists' desire for independence, and soliciting their help. He made the point to the French authorities that by helping the Irish rebels the British Army would be tied down, easing military pressures on the French elsewhere in Europe. So in July 1798 the Directoire ordered 1,000 regular troops and three frigates to proceed to Ireland, setting sail under General Humbert for this purpose. On 22nd August, he landed unopposed at Killala Bay. On the 23rd August he offered arms and ammunition to 1,000 Irish volunteers. But he had not been well briefed. The people of Connaught had taken no part in the rebellion, and in any case, after the defeat at Vinegar Hill the taste for rebellion had left most of the United Irishmen. Nevertheless, Humbert moved inland, occupying Ballina, his total strength now being I 100 French regulars and by this time around 2,000 armed Irishmen.

News of the landing did not take long to reach Dublin and Cornwallis lost no time in taking measures to check the invaders. He ordered General Hutchinson, commander of the troops in Connaught, to march to Mayo to protect the bridges on the Upper Shannon while he and his troops set out by means of forced marches for Athlone. General Hutchinson, realising the urgency of the situation had not waited for orders but had collected all available troops from Galway, Gort and Athendry and then occupied Castlebar where he was joined on the 26th by Lake. At the same time, a small force of some 12,000 men under General Taylor was posted 12 miles to the north at Foxford, where it was guarding what was thought to be the only possible passage for an army across the river Moy.

Humbert resumed his march towards Castlebar. He heard en route that Taylor was at Ballina where he halted to rest his troops, anticipating an attack there. He had found Taylor withdrawn to Foxford. Because of this Humbert realised that the English were expecting him to cross the river Moy there and that their deployment at Castlebar was based on that assumption. Guided by an Irish priest, he marched across the hills by a little known track and by 6 o'clock the following morning, he had reached the heights above Castlebar.

Lake was warned of Humbert's unexpected route by a loyalist yeoman from a mountain farm who had been visiting his cattle. The ill-disciplined Irish militia of the Royal Army soon panicked as a result of a bayonet charge and fled to Tuam where Lake at last succeeded in rallying his army. The artillery, a small band of the 6th Foot and Lord Roden's Fencible Dragoons were the only soldiers who stood firm.

On news of the invasion reaching Dublin, Cornwallis sent Craufurd to join Lake at Tuam. Lake hoped that he would be able to restore the soldiers' morale, 'that the soldiers will get the better of their panic which is beyond all description.' Craufurd on arrival was placed in command of Lake's advance guard. This force consisted of a Light cavalry squadron, one of the few regiments that had remained steady at Castlebar, and Hompesch's Chasseurs Cheval (a Swiss mercenary regiment).

Initial Tasks

Craufurd's initial tasks were to gain positive intelligence of the location and strength of the enemy (an exercise at which he excelled in Spain in 1810) while Cornwallis and Lake manoeuvred their armies into a favourable tactical position from which to give battle. On arrival at Tuam, he received intelligence that a considerable number of insurgents were assembling at Ballinrobe and he set out to confirm this. His activities during the next 48 hours are best told in his own words.

About a mile and a half on this side of Kilmaine at Major Miller's house, I was informed that parties had been there an hour before, collecting arms. I observed several groups of them. I took two prisoners mounted with green ribands in their hats and very badly armed, a shot or two were fired at my flanks. In advancing from hence to Ballinrobe, I must have left a very boggy, difficult and apparently disturbed country in my rear. I therefore only sent a patrol to Kilmaine in which they found very few people. Their reports and those of every man to whom I spoke agreed with what had been before mentioned to me, viz that a considerable body of insurgents commanded by a Mr George Blake were in possession of Ballinrobe. Having ascertained this to my satisfaction, I judged it would be useless and certainly improvident to advance further in that direction without infantry and with horses much jaded. I therefore returned to the Hollymount road and arrived here a quarter of an hour ago. No French troops have ever been here, so all the people I have spoken to say the country east of the bogs that are on the left of the road going from Tuam to Hollymount does not appear to me to be disturbed. The inhabitants are in groups on the hills, but not armed, and I believe their leaving their habitation to proceed entirely from fear. A man just brought in tells me that he left Ballinrobe two hours ago and that he does not believe there are more than 100 rebels in that place. I hope to send accurate intelligence of the French tomorrow, I believe them to be still at or near Castlebar.

The following day he submitted two further reports Ballinrobe, 1 Sept, 1300 hours

I yesterday sent Captain Taylor for your Excellency a report of my proceedings since I left Headquarters. I passed last night in the neighbourhood of Hollymount. This morning I had two objects, the one to ascertain the real state of Ballinrobe, the other to find out how far the French pushed their advanced posts. I therefore sent a patrol at daybreak to Ballinrobe, with orders to go very near the town, and then to join me on the great road leading from Hollymount to Castlebar.

At the latter road I advanced about five miles. I saw no appearance of the enemy. I met successively three gentlemen's servants who had passed by Castlebar at different hours yesterday. They all said that the French had been joined by Clare, but particularly from the western and most mountainous parts of the county of Mayo, in which neighbourhood it is said that several of what they call gentlemen headed the insurgents. As to the numbers of rebels collected at Castlebar, the statements of the people I have examined are so very vague and contradictory that I do not think them worth repeating. After having satisfied myself as far as it was possible what I should be able to do with respect to the position of the French, I was next anxious to know more exactly the state of Ballinrobe. The first patrol reported to me on its return, that it had been within a mile of it, and had seen no enemy. I had also in the meantime been informed, though not by persons I could depend on, that part of the rebels had left it for Castlebar. I did not, however, think it prudent on such uncertain intelligence to go thither with a detachment so composed, particularly as I was obliged to leave some long and bad defiles behind me and knew possibly that many of the inhabitants were armed.

I therefore sent another patrol with orders to ride full gallop into the town, and if they found it occupied by insurgents to get back to me as soon as possible. I thought the object worth the risk. They found in the place about sixty or eighty men. They killed ten or 12 of them, the rest fled. A French officer, a Mr Blake C) left the place this morning for Castlebar as did about 150 insurgents. They had got intelligence that we were advancing. In the course of my march I have industriously circulated a report that a very large force is at my heels, and it seems to have a good effect. My patrols ranged over a considerable extent of country. The dragoons I have with me appear to be excellent light troops.

PS I found in the barracks, several blue-yellow uniforms which they had been making for the rebels.