battle of Naas
{{Short description|1798 battle of the United Irish Rebellion}}
{{Refimprove|date=April 2008}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Use Irish English|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox military conflict
|conflict=Battle of Naas
|image=
|caption=
|partof=the Irish Rebellion
|date=24 May 1798
|place=Naas, County Kildare
|result=British victory
|combatant1={{flagicon|Kingdom of Great Britain}} Kingdom of Great Britain
- {{flagicon|Kingdom of Ireland}} Kingdom of Ireland
|combatant2={{Flagicon image|Green harp flag of Ireland.svg}} United Irishmen
{{Flagicon image|Green harp flag of Ireland.svg}} Defenders
|commander1=Unknown
|commander2=Michael Reynolds
|strength1=250
|strength2=1,000
|casualties1= ~25 killed
|casualties2= ~135 killed
|}}
{{Campaignbox Irish Rebellion of 1798}}The Battle of Naas took place in Ireland on 24 May 1798.
Background
One of the first engagements of the 1798 rebellion, a force of over 1,000 rebels, led by Michael Reynolds attacked Naas, the strongest Crown garrison in County Kildare, following the successful mobilisation of United Irishmen, Defenders and rebels throughout county Kildare on the night of 23 May.{{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=John |title=An Impartial Narrative of Each Engagement which Took Place Between His Majesty's Forces and the Rebels, During the Irish Rebellion, 1798 |date=1800 |publisher=J. Jones |location=Dublin |pages=63–67 |edition=4th |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5WA_AQAAMAAJ&q=%22Battle+of+Naas%22}} The garrison at Naas numbered approximately 250 men, supplemented by a number of local yeomen, some of whom had already deserted to the rebels. Importantly, the defenders had some cannon.
Attack
The rebel attack was launched from three directions at around 2:30 a.m and achieved a degree of surprise, driving the garrison back to a barricade outside the gaol, on a slight hill at the centre of the town's main street. Rebel assaults on the barricade were eventually beaten back when the military managed to bring two artillery pieces to bear, firing at close range into the mass of rebels advancing on the then gaol from the north. Hemmed in by buildings, the rebels could not manoeuver, and cavalry were sent in to take advantage of the confusion. The rebels then began to retreat and the bulk of their casualties, about 135, were inflicted at this stage for the loss of about 25 of the military.{{cite web|url=http://www.fourcourtspress.ie/product.php?intProductID%3D293 |title=Four Courts Press: Rebellion in Kildare, 1790-1803 by Liam Chambers |accessdate=2011-07-25 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002042737/http://www.fourcourtspress.ie/product.php?intProductID=293 |archivedate=2011-10-02 }}{{Failed verification|date=January 2019}}
On the same night the Battle of Prosperous about 6 miles north of Naas resulted in a rebel success.
Footnotes
{{coord missing|County Kildare}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naas}}
Category:Battles of the Irish Rebellion of 1798
Category:History of County Kildare
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{{UK-battle-stub}}