Ireland 1649-52: Cromwell’s Protestant Crusade

Osprey's study of Oliver Cromwell's campaigns during the end of the
English Civil War (1642-1651). Following the execution of King Charles I
in January 1649, the English Parliament saw their opportunity to launch
an assault on the Royalist enclave in Ireland. Oliver Cromwell was
appointed as Deputy of Ireland to lead a campaign to restore direct
control and quell the Confederate opposition.
The first battle in Cromwell's bloody offensive was at Drogheda, where
an assault on the city walls resulted in the slaughter of almost 4000
defenders and inhabitants. The Parliamentary troops then proceeded to
Wexford where battle once again lead to a massacre. After Cromwell
returned to England, his son-in-law, Henry Ireton, continued the
operation which ended with the surrender of Galway in 1652 and led to
the Act for the Settlement of Ireland, in which Irish Royalists and
Confederates were evicted and their lands 'settled' by those who had
advanced funds to Parliament.