ebuke
rather than be the instruments of such indiscriminate oppression. Pitt
and the authorities at Dublin Castle probably reasoned with themselves
that since the rebellion was certain to come it was better to press it
on prematurely, so that it might be easily crushed, rather than leave
it to take its own time and put its plans into execution when they
should have arrived at a formidable maturity.

[Sidenote: 1798--Father John Murphy and Miles Byrne]

The rebellion broke out in the early part of 1798. It had some
brilliant temporary successes in Wexford County and in other counties.
In one part of Wexford the movement was literally forced upon the
people by the outrageous conduct of the militia and the yeomanry. One
of the local Irish priests, Father John Murphy, had used all his
efforts up to the last in the cause of order, and had been most
energetic in persuading the people to give up their pikes and other
weapons to the local authorities. After the people had surrendered
their arms the scourging, {321} shooting, and hanging went on just the
same as before, and Father John Murphy and numbers of his parishioners
were forced to take refuge in the woods. Then for the first time
Father Murphy became a rebel. More than that, he became all at once an
insurgent general. He put himself at the head of the despairing
peasantry, and he suddenly developed a decided talent for the work of
an insurgent chief. His people were armed for the most part only with
pitchforks and with spades. Their pikes had nearly all been
surrendered; only some few of the farming class had guns; and there
was, of course, no sort of heavy artillery. Father Murphy showed his
people how to barricade with carts the road through which a body of
cavalry were expected to pass, and at the right moment, just when the
cavalry found themselves unexpectedly obstructed, the insurgents
suddenly attacked them with pitchforks and spades, won a complete
victory, and utterly routed their opponents. By this success the
rebels became possessed of a considerable number of carbines, and were
put in heart for further enterprises. Father John Murphy won several
other victories, and for the hour was master of a large part of
Wexford. One of those who took service under him was a young man,
Miles Byrne, scarcely eighteen years of age, who afterwards rose to
high distinction in the French army under Napoleon, and maintained his
position and repute under the Resto