CHARLES LAHEE of Carlow wrote a letter dated September the .6th, 1798, to Charles Lahee, Perfumer, Chelsea, London. Mr. H. S. Boxer states that he has reason to believe that the writer (Charles Lahee) was born in 1733 and died in 1799, the year after the letter was written. He also believes that he was the husband of Sarah Lahee, who survived him by 50 years and died aged 96 in 1849. Her Portrait with her Obituary is in his possession. Mr. Boxer also states that at the time the letter was written there were either three or four Charles Lahees’, the writer of the letter, the recipient, the Charles who was left with his uncle at Wexford and the Charles who was sergeant of the Fifth Dragoons, though these last two may be the same person.

The letter commences with a paragraph dealing with personal matters and in particular mentioning the writer’s bad health. The last paragraph deals with his personal circumstances and his recent misfortune. The remainder of the letter reads as follows:—

I had the good fortune to get away from Wexford a few days before the town was taken by the Rebels. There were near three hundred of the inhabitants piked and thrown into the river by the Rebels and the houses robbed of all their effects.

There were a great number of the Inhabitants got away on board ship but the sailors betrayed and put them in again and gave them up to the Rebels.

Your uncle was prisoner for some time, but Providence spared his life a little longer. He was robbed of all he had but I am told the Government will reimburse the sufferers by the confiscation of the Rebel Lands of the County of Wexford.

OVERRUN BY THE REBELS

Your uncle has no family now but his wife, his three daughters are very well married, but as I told you above I took Charles to his uncle but as his aunt was not willing that he should not take him, I‘ brought him home again and in about three weeks after he went on a visit to a gentleman’s house about 16 miles from Wexford. He had not been three days there till the Rebels overran them and he with the family went towards Wexford and on the way joined with the Wexford Militia and other troops and they were defeated by the Rebels. A few that got away went towards the town and joined the Corps there with some other troops and thought to retake the town but to no purpose. They were too many in number for them to encounter and the Commander of the Wexford Corps turned Rebel and brought all he could over to them. Then Charles and many others fled towards Ross and had many skirmishes by the way and -the Rebels still conquering. Charles got a shot in his cheek and the same ball killed a man behind him. He was then taken prisoner to the Rebel camp near Ross and they put the United Man's Oath to him and he and the sergeant refused to take them and the Rebels said they would give them but 24 hours to do it and they would hang them. Many others took the oaths, but they would not and they were hanged up and when they were up about 3 minutes there was a great cry in the camp that a large body of the "King's Troops were coming. They ran participantly from the camp and left them hanging and the little Fifer that was prisoner cut them down and when they recovered a little they crawled towards Ross and from that to the fort of Duncannon and there got a pass from General Fossett to Carlow. He had the mark of the ball in his cheek and the rope on his neck.

BURNED AND ROBBED

I am told that never a boy could be more stout in the different battles. He killed 21 of them one day. The first day of the great attack was on the 25th day of May in the many towns and in Carlow there was near 700 killed that day that they knew of besides the many that were taken and Wounded. John was in the Carlow fight and Charles in the Wexford on the same day. Our troops burned about 60 houses that day where the Rebels ran in for ‘shelter. A number of the inhabitants were also ‘burned that could not get out in time. There were many small towns in the County of Carlow, Kildare, Wexford, Kilkenny, etc., by the Rebels burned and robbed. Then when the King’s Troops would get the better of the Rebels they would take from them all their plunder so that everyone that had cash to spare could buy watches, horses, cows, beds, etc., for twenty times less than their value from the Soldiers or the Rebels. There were several Camps of King’s Troops and Rebels in many parts of the nation. There has been a great number of men of consequence killed by the Rebels and their houses burned. We hanged and shot several of the inhabitants of Carlow who were United Men and many of the United were men of Fortune that were Commanders of the Rebels hanged in Wexford.

There has not been since the year 91 such bloodshed and robbery. How it will end I know not but at this time Lord Cornwallis with a great Army went to Connaught against some French that are after them with a great Army. We hear that there has been about 80,000 of them killed. Your brother Ben was wounded and well Charles Lahee, sergeant of the Fifth Dragoons, was greatly wounded but is recovering. Your Aunt Lahee’s house was burnt with many others in the same street but it will be rebuilt as it was by the adjoining house that took fire.

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