Battle of the Ford of the Biscuits

Battle of the Ford of the Biscuits
Part of the Nine Years' War
The Battle of the Ford of the Biscuits, 7 Aug. 1594: 1: Irish shot engage and halt the head of the column but are eventually forced to give ground due to a determined English pike charge. 2: Irish shot force in the English loose shot and disorder the pikemen. 3: Irish pikemen and Scots charge into the disordered rear forcing it onto the main battle and then the van. 4: English army makes it to low ground. Under fire from the surrounding heights, the English attack south but are forced to cross further upstream. 5: Incongruously the Irish horse played no part in the battle
Date 7 August 1594 Location Arney River, County Fermanagh, Ireland 54°16′37″N 7°38′20″W / 54.277°N 7.639°W / 54.277; -7.639 Result Irish victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of England	Irish alliance
Commanders and leaders
Sir Henry Duke Sir Edward Herbert	Hugh Maguire Cormac O'Neill
Strength
646	1,000+
Casualties and losses
56 killed 69 Wounded	Low

The Battle of the Ford of the Biscuits took place in Fermanagh, Ireland on 7 August 1594, during the Nine Years' War. A column of almost 650 English troops led by Sir Henry Duke was ambushed and defeated by a Gaelic Irish force under Hugh Maguire and Cormac MacBaron O'Neill at the Arney River. The English column had been sent to relieve and resupply Enniskillen Castle, which had been under siege by the Irish since May. The English suffered at least 56 killed and 69 wounded, and were forced to make a hasty retreat.

The battle gained its name because the supplies of the English, largely hard biscuits, were left scattered and floating in the river. The battle was an early engagement of the Nine Years' War, and exposed the vulnerability of the English to ambushes in the wilder parts of Ulster with its thick woods and bogs.