Back to
Sir John Bolle's Young
Lieutenant Farmer
While serving as Sir John’s Lieutenant, Farmer
would have served at the following commands:
This list shows Sir John’s company with Sir
Henry Docwra in garrison at Lough Foyle in Dec. 1601
In December 1601 Sir Henry Docwra marched his 6
companies of foot overland from Derry to Donegal Castle to relieve the
English garrison there which had been weakened by a major explosion and
fire in their storehouses in September which had blown a hole right
through the castle’s outer walls. (ref below) He left two new companies
there and then had a look at Ballyshannon’s defenses. Realizing that
more artillery would be needed to take the castle, he left two of his
companies a short way up the Erne River from Ballyshannon at Ashrowe
Abbey under Captain Digges command and then returned to Derry to send
the cannons.
This list of the companies serving under Sir
Henry Docwra in January 1602 shows Sir John Bolles and Captain Gore with
their companies at O’Boyle’s Castle which is on the coast on the edge of
Donegal. It also shows the two companies at Donegal and Digges and
Bassett’s companies at Ashrowe
A single large cannon arrived at Ballyshannon
on March 20 and by March 25, 1602 Captain Digges had taken the castle.
This marked the fall of the last major bastion of the rebels in the
north and the limit of Docwra’s offensive in the Nine Years War. That
summer they established garrisons at even the minor strongholds in the
area but for all intents and purposes the offensive was being wound down
although Tyrone would still hold out from the wilder interior of the
island until 1607.
The List of the Army as it stands on
September 30, 1602 has, under the heading ‘In Leinster and the borders
of the Pale’, Docwra back at his headquarters at Lough Foyle, with his
Captains Gore, Bassett (mentioned above) and others including a new
Captain Farmer at Belleek (just up the river from Ballyshannon).
However, Sir John Bolles is no longer there. (Calendar of State Papers,
p. 488) Earlier, Sir John had requested that he be removed from his
company and that Lieutenant Farmer be put in command in his place. I
believe it can be safely assumed that Bolles has left his command which
is now under his, now promoted, Captain Farmer.
The Abstract Shewing How the Horse and Foot in
her Majesty’s Army in Ireland is Distributed on November 20, 1602 has
Captain Farmor ‘about the side of Lough Erne’ in the Carrickfergus
section. (same, p. 525) Lough Erne is about 3 miles upriver from
Belleek.
With the completion of the campaign in the
north the army’s field units were largely wound down. The list of
discharges from the Irish Army in November and December 1602 includes a
Captain Farmer at Ballyshannon with 150 men. (same, p. 534)
However, many of the discharged officers were
kept on pay (‘entertainment’) by order of the Lords of the Council. The
Apr. 30, 1603 ‘List
of Lately Discharged Officers Whose Entertainments Are Still Continued
to Them’ includes a Captain Thomas Farmar. Sir John Bolles’
Lieutenant and brother-in-law Farmer finally has a first name and it’s
Thomas.
p. 109, 110