Siege of Clonmel - Town Surrenders

Town Surrenders

However, O’Neill’s men were out of ammunition and slipped away under cover of darkness - making their way to Waterford. Cromwell negotiated a surrender with the town’s mayor, John White, believing that Clonmel was still heavily defended. The surrender terms stipulated that the lives and property of the townspeople would be respected. Cromwell, although angry at the deception, did not allow his soldiers to abuse the terms of the surrender when he found that the garrison was gone and the town defenceless. His admirers cite this as an example of his integrity while his critics contrast it with the massacre he ordered at Drogheda the previous year.