‘The famous Battle of the Boyne in Ireland, 1690’ (engraving, coloured)

‘The famous Battle of the Boyne in Ireland, 1690’. Coloured engraving by and after Grainger. Published for Barnard’s ‘New Complete and Authentic History of England’, 1790 (c). Although he had been deposed in 1688, King James II still had many backers in Ireland and landed there in March 1689 to raise support. On 12 July 1690, his army met the forces of King William III by the Boyne River near the town of Drogheda. Despite stiff resistance, William's forces eventually broke through James’s centre and right, causing a general retreat. Although the Battle of the Boyne was later celebrated as a decisive victory for William, Jacobite casualties were comparatively light and the greater part of James's army escaped.