#OnThisDay 1646 Eoghan Ruadh Ó’Néill and his army of 5000 defeated a slightly larger Scottish Covenanter army under Robert Munro at the Battle of Benburb in Tyrone during the War of the Three Kingdoms. Ó’Néill was the nephew of Hugh O’Neill of The Nine Years’ War fame. Munro stated the battle tactically well, first with artillery fire and then a cavalry charge but neither broke the Confederates nor caused many casualties. A final pike charge by the Irish, whose pikes were longer and had smaller heads which were better for piercing armour, caused the Scots to break & run, killing between 2000-3000. This ended Scottish hopes of conquering Ireland and imposing their own religious settlement there.
