Battle of Prosperous

{{Short description|Engagement during 1798 Irish rebellion}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}

{{Use Irish English|date=December 2021}}

{{Infobox military conflict

| conflict = Battle of Prosperous

| partof = the Irish Rebellion of 1798

| image = Prosperous 1798.jpg

| image_size = 300

| caption = Attack on Prosperous by George Cruikshank

| date = 24 May 1798

| place = Prosperous, County Kildare

| result = United Irishmen victory

| combatant1 = {{Flagicon image|Green harp flag of Ireland.svg}} United Irishmen

| combatant2 = {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Ireland}}
{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Great Britain}}

| commander1 = {{Flagicon image|Green harp flag of Ireland.svg}} John Esmonde

| commander2 = {{flagdeco|Kingdom of Ireland}} Richard Swayne

| strength1 = 200

| strength2 = 150

| casualties1 = Unknown, probably few

| casualties2 = {{circa}} 140 killed

| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Irish Rebellion of 1798}}

| coordinates = {{Coord|53.2878|N|6.7558|W|source:wikidata|display=ti|format=dms}}

| map_type = Ireland County Kildare#Ireland

| map_relief = 1

}}

The Battle of Prosperous was a military engagement between British Crown forces and United Irishmen rebels on 24 May 1798, during that year's Irish Rebellion, in the town of Prosperous, County Kildare.

Prosperous was founded by Sir Robert Brooke in 1780 as a village for processing cotton produced in the Americas. When a rebellion spearheaded by the United Irishmen broke out against British rule in Ireland, rebel forces led by John Esmonde made plans to capture Prosperous.[https://www.dib.ie/biography/esmonde-john-a2945 "Esmonde, John"], Dictionary of Irish Biography. Re-accesed 5 June 2025. Esmonde had 200 rebels under his command, while Prosperous was garrisoned by elements of the Royal Cork City Militia under the command of Captain Richard Swayne reinforced by detachments of a Welsh mounted fencible regiment, the Ancient British Regiment of Fencible Cavalry Dragoons (also known as the Ancient Britons), numbering 150 men in all.{{cite news|title=Mobilisation in 1797 |newspaper= Broad Arrow|date= 12 February 1876|page= 14}}

On 24 May 1798, Esmonde ordered his forces to attack Prosperous. Their entry was preceded by the infiltration of a small rebel vanguard, who with the possible help of female sympathisers residing in Prosperous, scaled the walls of the town's barracks, killed the sentries and opened the town gates. The barracks were quickly surrounded and attacked by the rebels who repulsed an attempt by the garrison to break out; "Swayne himself was surprised in bed, shot and piked to death and his body burned in a tar barrel."Browne, Fergal. [https://www.historyireland.com/volume-26/captain-swayne-and-the-battle-of-prosperous-24-may-1798/ "Captain Swayne and the Battle of Prosperous, 24 May 1798"], History Ireland, Volume 26. Issue 3, May/June 2018. The remainder of the garrison were trapped in the upper floors of the barracks which was set on fire by the rebels, causing them to jump in desperation onto the ground below, where they were summarily executed with pikes. While the rebels suffered no known casualties, c. 140 members of the garrison were killed in the battle.[https://www.prosperousheritage.com/battle-of-prosperous "Battle of Prosperous"], prosperousheritage.com

10 members of the garrison, all belonging to the Ancient Britons, managed to escape from Prosperous to Dunlavin, County Wicklow, where they participated in the Dunlavin Green executions on 26 May. Esmonde, who had previously enlisted in the Clane Yeomanry as their first-lieutenant, returned to his regular unit hoping to gain intelligence, but was betrayed by his aide, captured and brought to Dublin for trial. He was court-martialled on 13 June and found guilty of being a deserter. Esmonde was executed by hanging on 14 June at on Carlisle Bridge with his yeoman's coat being worn reversed to indicate that he was convicted of desertion. Prosperous remained under the control of the United Irishmen until 19 June, when a detachment of the 5th Dragoon Guards under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Stewart recaptured the town.{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/59991661 |title=The year of liberty : the history of the Great Irish Rebellion of 1798 |last=Pakenham |first=Thomas |author-link=Thomas Pakenham (historian) |date=1992 |publisher=Orion |isbn=1-85799-050-1 |location=London |oclc=59991661}}{{rp|124}}