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The Siege of Drogheda took place on 3–11 September 1649 at the outset of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. The town of Drogheda in eastern Ireland was held by the Irish Catholic Confederation and English Royalists when it was besieged and stormed by English Parliamentarian forces under Oliver Cromwell. In the aftermath of the assault, much of the garrison and an unknown but "significant number" of civilians were killed by the Parliamentarian troops. Historians debate the legality of Cromwell's killing of the garrison of Drogheda and the extent to which civilians were targeted during the massacre. ==Background== Since 1642, most of Ireland had been under the control of the Irish Catholic Confederation, who had taken much of the country in the aftermath of the 1641 Irish rebellion. In 1648, the Irish Confederates allied themselves with the English Royalists to oppose the English Parliamentarians. With his New Model Army, Oliver Cromwell landed in Ireland in August 1649 to re-conquer the country on behalf of the English Parliament. Just before Cromwell's landing, Dublin had been secured for the Parliamentarians at the Battle of Rathmines. After their defeat there, the Royalists, under James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde, retreated in disarray. Some of their Protestant regiments defected to the Parliamentarians and Ormonde had to rally the remaining "dispersed forces" so as to put together a new field army. On 23 August the Royalists held a council of war at Drogheda, present at which were: the earls of Castlehaven and Westmeath, Sir Arthur Aston, Sir Thomas Armstrong (Quartermaster-General of Horse), Sir Robert Stewart and other Royalist leaders. It was resolved that the town should be held, and four regiments were chosen for its defence. The garrison was composed of both English Royalists and Irish Confederate troops under Arthur Aston, with a total strength of about 2,550.〔Two days before Cromwell arrived, the garrison consisted of: *Artillery: one master gunner, two gunners and thee gunners mates *Cavalry: 320 in five troops, commanded by Major Butler, Captain Harpole, Sir John Dugan, Sir James Preston, Lieutenant-Colonel Dugan, Captain Plunket, Captain Fleming, and Captain Finglas *Infantry: 2,221 in four regiments, under the command of Colonel Bryne, Colonel Wall, Sir Edmund Verney and Colonel Warren 〕 The army was half Catholic, including Irish and some English Catholics, and half English and Irish Protestants. Ormonde's strategy was not to confront the Parliamentary forces in battle but to hold the towns in the east of Ireland and "let his allies hunger and sickness weaken the invaders". Cromwell's tactics at Drogheda were determined by a need to take the port towns on Ireland's east coast quickly to ensure re-supply for his troops. The normal "campaigning season", when armies could live off the land, ran from spring to autumn. Cromwell had landed in Ireland late in the year, and campaigning through the winter necessitated securing a constant re-supply from the sea. Cromwell, therefore, favoured rapid assaults on fortified places, over time-consuming blockades to secure the all-important ports. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Siege of Drogheda」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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