Sir General John Maxwell General Maxwell's Report states:
"To give an idea of the opposition offered to his Majesty's troops in the execution of their duty, the following losses occurred:
Officers 17 killed, 46 wounded
Other ranks 89 killed, 288 wounded
I wish to draw attention to the fact that, when it became known that the leaders of the rebellion wished to surrender, the officers used every endeavour to prevent further bloodshed; emissaries were sent in to the various isolated bands, and time was given them to consider their position.
I cannot imagine a more difficult situation than that in which the troops were placed; most of those employed were draft-finding battalions, or young Territorials from England, who had no knowledge of Dublin.
The surrenders, which began on April 30th, were continued until late on May 1st, during which time there was a considerable amount of isolated sniping.
Under the circumstances related above I consider the troops as a whole behaved with the greatest restraint, and carried out their disagreeable and distasteful duties in a manner which reflects the greatest credit on their discipline.
Allegations on the behaviour of the troops brought to my notice are being most carefully inquired into. I am glad to say they are few in number, and these are not all borne out by direct evidence."
I like the blog. Interesting Maxwell thought that "the allegations" (such as the massacre of 15 civilians on North King Street), were "not all borne out by the evidence". In private he wrote that they were "absolutely inevitable in such a business".
ReplyDeleteA book review and audio interview with historian Fearghal McGarry on the Risng can be found here; http://www.theirishstory.com/the-irish-story-blog/ as can my own account of the Rebellion here; http://www.theirishstory.com/books/the-story-of-the-easter-rising-1916/