Vinegar Hill and Aftermath
By June 18 the British had built up a force of some 20,000 troops poised to strike from the north and west. Rebel forces under Perry withdrew from their base at Mountpleasant to meet the threat and formed a large camp at Kilcavan Hill in the north of the county. The British had not expected a large rebel force opposing them until Enniscorthy was reached and Perry's men threatened to throw the British plans into disarray after holding off several British attacks around Kilcavan Hill on the 19-20 June. However a decision was taken by the Rebel council on 20 June to consolidate all rebel forces in Wexford at the main Vinegar Hill camp for the looming battle and Perry withdrew as ordered.
The subsequent defeat on 21 June eliminated rebel control of territory in Wexford but left at least 10,000 armed men willing to fight on. Perry managed to withdraw a force of some thousands to the south towards Wexford town and with other leaders such as Garret Byrne, Edward Fitzgerald and Esmonde Kyan fought their way through Wexford reaching Kilcavan Hill again by June 28 and defeated a pursuing cavalry force at Ballyraheen Hill on 2 July.
Read more about this topic: Anthony Perry
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And fighting was not his trade;
But his rusty pike’s in the cabin still,
With Hessian blood on the blade.””
—Joseph I. C. Clarke (1846–1925)
“An illustrious individual remarks that Mrs. [Elizabeth Cady] Stanton is the salt, Anna Dickinson the pepper, and Miss [Susan B.] Anthony the vinegar of the Female Suffrage movement. The very elements get the “white male” into a nice pickle.”
—Anonymous, U.S. women’s magazine contributor. The Revolution (August 19, 1869)
“I remember the scenes of battle in which we stood together. I remember especially that broad and deep grave at the foot of the Resaca hill where we left those gallant comrades who fell in that desperate charge. I remember, through it all, the gallantry, devotion and steadfastness, the high-set patriotism you always exhibited.”
—Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901)
“The aftermath of joy is not usually more joy.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)