| Battle of Reading | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theGlorious Revolution | |||||||
 A 1611 map of Reading, withBroad Street marked with an "N" on the map's upper left | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Dutch Republic EnglishWilliamites |  Ireland | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Hans Bentinck | Patrick Sarsfield | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 280 | 600 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 2+ killed | 6–50 killed | ||||||
 | |||||||
Thebattle of Reading (also known as thebattle of Broad Street,Reading Skirmish orReading Fight) took place on 9 December 1688 inReading, Berkshire during theGlorious Revolution.Dutch States Army dragoons, led byHans Bentinck and supported byWilliamite civilians, routed anIrish Army detachment underPatrick Sarsfield from the town in one of only two substantial battles fought in England during the Glorious Revolution. The engagement was celebrated in Reading for many years afterwards.[1]
On 5 November 1688,[a]William of Orange, thestadtholder of theDutch Republic, landed inTorbay,Devon at the head of aWilliamite army to overthrow the unpopularJames II of England. Five weeks later, on 7 December, William reachedHungerford, where numerous English Williamites came to visit him, including several hundred cavalrymen under the command of Williamite noblemen fromNorthern England.[1]
After retreating fromSalisbury, James' main army was stationed onHounslow Heath. On 8 December, James sentLord Halifax,Lord Nottingham andLord Godolphin to confer with William. Halifax presented James' proposals, which included agreeing that their points of dispute would be laid before theParliament of England, and while Parliament deliberated William's army would not come closer than 30 miles fromLondon. Halifax then handed a personal letter from James to William, who conferred with his English advisors to discuss the proposals. Chaired byLord Oxford, after a long debate the advisors informed William he should reject James' proposals. William decided to negotiate and put forth several counter-proposals for Halifax to deliver to James.[2]
James had posted an advance guard of 600Irish Army troops underPatrick Sarsfield inReading, Berkshire to stop the march of William's army towards London. As wild rumours, known as theIrish Fright, asserted that Sarsfield's men were planning to massacre the residents of Reading, they sent word to William requesting help.[1]
On 9 December, a relief force of 280Dutch States Army dragoons underHans Bentinck were sent to Reading. Warned of the Irish army's positions, the Dutch attacked them from an unexpected direction, making their way into the town centre viaBroad Street.[1][3] Local civilians supported the attackers by firing at Sarsfield's troops from their windows. The Irish retreated in confusion, leaving an unknown number of dead behind, with reports varying widely from six to fifty killed, depending on the account. Bentinck's dragoons suffered at least two men killed.[1] Many of the battle's casualties were buried in the churchyard ofSt Giles' Church.[4]
The battle was described with blatant Williamite bias by English writerDaniel Defoe in his three-volume workA Tour thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain, which was one of the battle's few contemporary accounts. Defoe, who had supported and possibly fought in theMonmouth Rebellion against James II, was a supporter of William's invasion. He described how a squadron of "Irish dragoons" was routed by the "irresistible fury" of a Dutch force who chased many of the fleeing Irishmen to nearby village ofTwyford.[5]
James was already convinced that only Irish troops could be relied on to defend him, but their defeat by an inferior force and the willingness of the people of Reading to support Dutch invaders against his army underlined his insecurity. On 11 December, James fled London in an attempt to escape capture. He eventually escaped to France, where he met with his allyLouis XIV before landing inIreland, where most of the population supported him. James' last hopes of regaining his throne were dashed by his defeat in theWilliamite War in Ireland.[citation needed]
In light of proposals he had received from James while in Hungerford, William decided not to immediately proceed to London, but to accept an invitation from theUniversity of Oxford. On 11 December, William set off forAbingdon-on-Thames, but on hearing of James's flight from England, he turned and headed down theThames valley throughWallingford andHenley-on-Thames. He accepted the surrender of James' troops he met on the way, arriving atWindsor on 14 December 1688.[2][6]