Newtown Butler, battle of

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Newtown Butler, battle of, 1689. In the summer of 1689 Enniskillen, second only to Derry in importance in Northern Ireland, still held out against the Jacobite advance, a rallying-point and a great nuisance to their lines of communication. But when Mountcashel was ordered to pinch out the town, its defenders got their blow in first, attacking his troops at Newtown Butler on 31 July. Though heavily outnumbered, the Williamite forces carried the day, taking all the Jacobite guns and capturing their commander. It was the start of the turn of the tide.

J. A. Cannon

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