YOur Honor may please to understand, That upon the Sixth of October last, Colonel Axtel Governor of Kilkenny, drew what forces could well be spared out of this place and other adjacent Garisons, viz. Eight hundred Horse and Foot, and marched toward the Kings County, both to supply and settle our Garisons in those parts, lying upon the Shannon side; and be­ing Frontiers upon the Enemy, as also to put them into a tenable and defensive posture, as well to pre­vent the Enemy from Quartering there, as to se­cure our own Quarters from their Incursions. Be­fore he came thither, he had certain Intelligence, That upon our Northern Forces drawing them­selves from Athlone, the Enemy in Connaught ta­king that advantage, came over the Shannon Ri­ver, their number was Three thousand Foot, and about Three hundred Horse, all under the command of Clanrickard (whom Ormond hath lately made his Deputy) and had Besieged Kilkolgan a Garison of ours; and the night before had taken Forbawn-Castle, being one other of our Garisons, which blockt up a Pass, which is an Inlet to Kilkolgan; Colonel Axtel with a small Body faced the Pass, and drew back his main Body to attempt another Pass, whi­ther when he came, he found it strongly fortified with Breastworks, and Mann'd with Horse and Foot; [Page 4]beside, there was a deep River (though but nar­row) between him and the Enemy: They had an hours Dispute, each being drawn up in full Bodies on either side the River: There were killed of the Enemy One hundred and fifty Horse and Foot; we onely lost one Lieutenant, and had not above five or six common Soldiers wounded. In respect of the depth of the water and steepness of the Banks, ours could not get over, but retreated about half a Mile, to invite the Enemy to draw over into a Champion ground, but they declined it. Imme­diately upon this, there came an additional strength to the Enemy; for yong Preston, with those which marched out of Waterford with him, and others whom he had raised since, together with Irish For­ces out of Conaught, conjoyned with the Enemy, so that in all they were in number upward of Four thousand Foot and Five hundred Horse. They marched with their whole Body over the Forbawn River, and came within two miles of Berr, a Ga­rison of ours, wherein two great Battering Guns were lodged, Colonel Axtel not thinking it fit to engage so great a Body with so small a party, re­treated into Ossory, both to procure a conjunction with more Forces, and a further supply of provi­sion. In the interim the Enemy summoned Berr, and took in three of our Garisons near thereunto, viz. Cary Castle, Streamstown Castle, and Clogan; Colonel Axtel being conjoyned at Roscrea with an additional strength out of the counties of Tipperary and Wexford (who for that purpose had notice to Rendezvouz at Roscrea, upon the One and twen­tieth [Page 5]of October) in all consisting of Thirteen hun­dred Foot, and One thousand Horse and Dragoons, advanced toward Berr; whereupon the Enemy raised their Camp, and retreated to Meleek Island, bordering upon the Shannon, into which there is onely one Pass, with Bogs on each side; and that was also fortified in three several places, one behinde another, as Reserves to each other, which were all to be forced, before any entry could be obtained in­to the Island. Upon the Five and twentieth of October, half an hour before night, our Forces made an attempt upon the Enemy, and after a small Dis­pute beat them off from the first and second guard on the Pass; but at the third the Dispute was so hot, that they came to But-end of Musket, and God being pleased to give our Forces an entrance into the Island, the whole Body of the Enemy was presently Routed: They left all their Arms, we took Two hundred of their Horse, all their Wag­gons, Oxen, Tents, Provisions, and whatsoever else they had in their whole Camp; among which were Clanrickards own Waggons and Tent (he himself the day before having gone over the Shannon, to give order for the rest of his Forces to march to­ward Limbrick) being confident that the Army which he had left in the Kings County, together with those whom he expected would have gathered to their assistance, would have been able to carry all before them in these parts. The number of what Men the Enemy lost, is not certainly known; for beside those who were killed, Multitudes were drowned: Five hundred of them were forced into [Page 6]the Shannon by one party of our Horse in one place, and there were all drowned in one company toge­ther. The Irish Report, That there was not above Three hundred of the Enemy which escaped, and that most of those were such as swam over the Shan­non: which agrees with the Relation of a Trum­peter, who was the next day sent by their Major General Taaff, to enquire after prisoners, who con­fessed that all but Three hundred were lost; we lost onely one Captain, viz. Captain Goff, with Eight common Soldiers and twenty wounded. The next day the Enemy quitted all the before mentioned Garisons taken from us, fired them, and fled away into Conaught. This being done, Colonel Axtel on Friday last, being the First of November instant, with part of the Forces returned to this place (these parts being much infested in his absence with a party of Horse and Foot, consisting of about Five hun­dred, under the command of Dungan, Pierce Rea and Cavanagh) and the same night with a party of Horse and Foot drew out toward Thomastown, where he heard the Enemies last mentioned Forces were gathered together, being about Seven Miles distant from this place; the other part of the Forces marched out of Kings County unto my Lord De­puty, who hath besieged the Castle of Nenagh in Lower: Ormond about four Miles from the Shan­non, having drawn off the Forces from before Lim­brick, the unseasonableness of the Weather not ad­mitting our Army to lie in the field so long as the gaining of a place of so great strength will require. I have not else at present to trouble your Honor [Page 8]withal, onely to let your Honor know, That the late sad Visitation of Sickness, want of Clothes, cold and wet Weather, and Hard Duty, have weakened our Army; and therefore humbly offer unto your Ho­nors consideration, the Necessity of sending Re­cruits of Horse and Foot, and of having a provi­sion of Money here by the beginning of March, whereby the Army may be (with the first season of the year) enabled to take the field for Conaught. I humbly crave your Honors pardon for this bold­ness of,

Since writing, News is come, That Nenagh Castle is Surrendred; and that my Lord Deputy will suddenly take up his Winters-quarters in the City.