21 June 2016
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15,000 British soldiers attacked 20,000 Irish fighters on Vinegar Hill, County Wexford on 21 June 1798
On this day in history, 1798: 15,000 British soldiers attacked 20,000 Irish fighters on Vinegar Hill, and at nearby Enniscorthy, County Wexford. Roughly 1,000 Irish died, as did 100 British soldiers. The heated relations between Britain and Ireland had grown through the 1790s, as the Irish nationalist admiration for the French Revolution was seen by the British as treason. This led to the Irish Rebellion of 1798 of which Vinegar Hill was a part, as the British tried to prevent further rebel outbreaks.
You can search for your ancestors who served in the British Army for this period in the service records on genealogy website Findmypast.