PropertyValue
rdf:type
rdfs:label
  • Battle of Saintfield
rdfs:comment
  • A rebel force, over a thousand strong, converged on a large house owned by the McKee family. The McKees were a family of loyalists, who were unpopular in the region: one year before, they had provided information to the authorities leading to the arrest of a radical Presbyterian minister by the name of Birch and some members of his congregation. The McKees knew that they were unpopular and were thus armed to the teeth. As the house was surrounded, shots were fired from the fortified house, hitting some of the attackers. Gunfire held the insurgents back for a short while, until one of them, a fiddler by the name of Orr, managed to sneak around the back of the house with a ladder, and thence set the roof alight. The house was destroyed, and all eight members of the family inside killed. News
owl:sameAs
Strength
  • 350
  • 1000
dcterms:subject
dbkwik:military/property/wikiPageUsesTemplate
Partof
  • the United Irishmen Rebellion
Date
  • 1798-06-09
Commander
  • Granville Staplyton
  • McKinstry
  • Richard Frazer
Caption
  • Plaque commemorating the battle.
Casualties
  • 30
  • 58
  • ~10 captured
Result
  • United Irishmen victory
combatant
  • British Army
  • United Irishmen
Place
  • Saintfield, County Down
Conflict
  • Battle of Saintfield
abstract
  • A rebel force, over a thousand strong, converged on a large house owned by the McKee family. The McKees were a family of loyalists, who were unpopular in the region: one year before, they had provided information to the authorities leading to the arrest of a radical Presbyterian minister by the name of Birch and some members of his congregation. The McKees knew that they were unpopular and were thus armed to the teeth. As the house was surrounded, shots were fired from the fortified house, hitting some of the attackers. Gunfire held the insurgents back for a short while, until one of them, a fiddler by the name of Orr, managed to sneak around the back of the house with a ladder, and thence set the roof alight. The house was destroyed, and all eight members of the family inside killed. News of this quickly reached the British forces in the area, and a 300 strong force under Colonel Granville Staplyton, consisting of Newtownards Yeomanry cavalry and 270 York Fencibles, as well as two light cannon, marched to the region.