THE f> GREAT CIVIL WAS VOL. I. PRINTED BY BPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE LONDON r,^v HISTOEY OF THE GEEAT CIVIL WAR 1642 — 1649 BY SAMUEL R. GARDINER, M.A., LL.D. FELLOW OF ALL SOULS; HONORATiY STUDENT OF CHRIST CHURCH ; FELLOW Olf KING'S COLI.KOK, LONDON'; CORRESPONDING MEMBER 111 THE MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL BOOIBTT, UJD OF THE ROYAL BOHEMIAN SOCIETY OF SCIENCES VOL. I. 164 2 164 4 LONDON LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 1886 All riff hit ■ ett rv 'I Df) 10 V.I PREFACE. The volume now published was origin ally intended to be the third volume of ' The Fall of the Monarchy of Charles I' ; but as an unexpected demand for the first two volumes of that work exhausted the issue, it was thought advisable to include them in a collected edition of my historical works issued under the title of a ' History of England from the Accession of James I. to the Outbreak of the Civil War.' As purchasers of the new edition would hardly like to begin with a third volume of the ' Fall of the Monarchy oft 'hades I.,' I shall doubtless best consult their interests by starting afresh under a new title, whilst those who have the old edition will not be much annoyed by the discovery that the second volume in their possession is the last of that series. The present work will, it is hoped, be contained in three volumes, the index being reserved for the hist of the three. The authorities which I have consulted may be ascertained by the references given in the notes. The names of pamphlets in the British Museum Library are followed by the letters or numbers signifying the press mark. Of the inner life of the House of Com- mons we unfortunately know less during the Civil ! viii PREFACE. War than during the first year and a half of the Lone Parliament. D'Ewes, dissatisfied with the course of cwiits, grows much more reticent than he had formerly been, and two other diaries, those of Whit- acreand Yonge, which I have used, I believe, for the first lime, do not fully supply his place. Whit- acre reports no speeches, and Yonge does so only occasionally. As Yonge wrote chiefly in symbols — ] (articular marks being employed to represent all the commoner words — it requires a certain amount of preparation to read him, though, as an explanation of these symbols is prefixed to each of his four volumes, there is no real difficulty in the matter. It is fortunate that since the publication of War- burton's ' Memoirs of Rupert and the Cavaliers ' a con- siderable part of the MSS. which he used has been acquired by the Museum Library, not merely be- cause there are letters in the collection of which he made no use, but because he neglected to take the trouble to read ciphered letters, even when the ma- terials for doing so were to be found at the distance of a few pages. It will be seen that a part of a de- spatch of Digby's, written on the morning of the second battle of Newbury, yields interesting information of which no word appears in Warburton's transcript, though it must be acknowledged that he did not fail to indicate the fact that he had not printed the whole letter. The collection of the books of the Committee of Both Kingdoms in the Eecord Office is too well known to require special recognition. Unfortunately only two volumes of the letters received by the Com- PREFACE. IX mittee — in many respects the most important of the series — have been preserved. Even better known than these are the Thomasson Tracts in the Museum Library, that unequalled collection of pamphlets and newspapers which makes a residence in or near London absolutely essential to any historian of the Civil War ; whilst frequent visits to Oxford are ren- dered necessary by the existence of the Carte MSS. in the Bodleian Library, in which so much of Irish history lies concealed, and of the Tanner and Clarendon collections, in the latter of which are to be found in- creasingly as the war draws to a close the materials for setting forth the policy of the Eoyalist party. Of the value of newspapers as a subsidiary source of knowledge, much of a very divergent character has been said. Mercurius Aulicus, the Oxford organ, remains untrustworthy to the end, Birkenhead, its writer — a Fellow of All Souls, I regret to say — com- poses his attacks on the enemy under no sense of responsibility, and with the sole end of making Puritans and Parliamentarians ridiculous, though even in his work are sometimes included reports or despatches of Eoyalist commanders which add something to our knowledge. The Parliamentary newspapers begin hardly better. For some time they invent freely ; but either on account of the cha- racter of the readers for whom they catered, or on account of the competition to which they were sub- jected— fifteen or twenty weekly newspapers being published in London for one at Oxford — they mend their ways before many months are past. A reader has, x PREFACE. nodoubt, to be on his guard against stories of Cavalier outrages, especially upon women, which are probably for the most part as imaginary as are, I hope, the stories which were told in Ireland of both sides as habitually carrying babies on the ends of pikes; bul when this sort of tiling is set aside as a common formula, there remains to the credit of the London oewspapers an evident wish to ascertain the facts, and a constant habit of warning readers not to accept as certain news which has just come to hand. I do not profess to have read every word of the Thomasson Tracts. Puritan sermons and Puritan re- ligious treatises are sometimes repulsive, and I have therefore neglected them, except when there was reason to suppose that anything of importance could be gained from them ; but I have worked steadily through the pamphlets and newspapers, and I hope that nothing of importance lias been omitted, though it will be understood that much has been assimilated which has no place in the notes. On one subject I feel the utmost diffidence. It seems an impertinence for one who is not only not a soldier, but who knows nothing of the military art, to write about war. The only consolation afforded to me is that it is possible to have the most intimate acquaintance with tactics, and yet to know little of the true causes of permanent success in war. The ultimate results of a series of campaigns depend upon more general considerations even than those which come within the scope of military competence, and the soldier is perhaps under the temptation of PREFACE. XI dwelling on the events which lead to the winning of battles, rather than on those which Trust rale the ex- pectations of even the most successful conquerors. On one point I am afraid I shall not satisfy some of my readers. I cannot describe battles which I have not seen as if I had ; yet, if to describe a battle as if he saw it is no part of the historian's task, he need not therefore turn aside from the duty of de- scribing it with truthfulness, as far as his materials allow him to do so, and I have therefore thought it right to visit the fields on which all the important struggles of the war took place. I am only afraid that I have often given to my narrative the appear- ance of greater accuracy than is attainable, and I must therefore ask my readers to supply a chorus of doubt, and to keep in mind that they read, not an account of that which certainly happened, but of that which appears to me to have happened after such inquiry as I have been able to make. I ought to say a few words about the maps inserted in this volume. Of the coloured maps, the four which give the relative positions of the two English parties at certain dates have been con- structed with the help of contemporary newspapers and letters. There must always, however, have been a certain number of private houses holding out for the King or for the Parliament which have escaped my researches, some of which indeed could hardly have been included in a map on so small a scale. The map of Ireland, as far as Ulster and Connaught are concerned, has been constructed in the same way. xii PREFACE. and is liable to the same drawbacks. The line separating the two parties in Leinster and Munster is distinctly marked in the text of the Treaty of Cessa- tion, though even there fortified posts in possession of either party at the date of the treaty were to remain in the hands of those who held them. As to the other two provinces, the treaty merely states that each party shall hold its own. Consequently, unless where a post is of sufficient importance to be named in some contemporary letter, it would not come under my notice. On the whole, however, I believe that the five maps give a fair representation of the state of affairs at their respective dates. Of the smaller maps, those of battle-fields have given me considerable difficulty. There are in exist- ence modern maps of the principal battles in which the numbers and position of the combatants are laid doAvn with great minuteness. It has frequently hap- pened that I have been unable to satisfy myself as to the accuracy of these details, and I have preferred to allow my maps to be less full than to fill up the gaps in my knowledge by conjecture. The two maps of the battles of Newbury are founded on ' A Map of the County of Berks ... by the late J. Eocque,' in eighteen sheets, published in i 762, and therefore having spaces open which are now enclosed. I wish I had been able to find equally early authority for the other sites. I have to thank Mr. T. Arnold for kindly acquainting me with the result of his study of the battle of Edgehill before the publication of his PREFACE. xiii edition of ' Clarendon's Sixtli Book ' by the Claren- don Press, where his views on the subject are now embodied in a carefnl note. In consequence of his communication I have modified the account which I had at first given of the movements before the battle of that small part of the Parliamentary cavalry which remained steadfast, though I still doubt whether such absolute certainty is attain- able as would justify me in placing the position of this force on a map. It is satisfactory to find that in estimating the general result of the battle we have independently come to very much the same con- clusion. CONTENTS i ii THE FIRST VOLUME CHAPTER I. <3 CAYALIEKS AXI> ROUNDHEADS. 1642 August 22. -^Outbreak of the war Prince Rupert ...... Kindsey commander-in-chief Royalism of the Verneya .... The moderate Royalists .... Royalism of Edmund Waller .... --•The Puritan character and work Social disruption avoided .... Disturbances in Essex .... Kent secured for the Parliament Attempts on both sides to restrain plundering August 25. — A negotiation opened b\ the King August 27. — Rejection of Charles's overtures September 2. — Ordinance against stage plays . The King's military weakness September 5. — A second pacific overture September 6.— The oiler rejected Delinquents to bear the expenses of the war . Increase of the King's army September 7. — Episcopacy to be abolished Surrender of Portsmouth .... ^The Parliamentary army .... September 9. — Essex takes leave of il"' IIousi 9 September 10.- Em x at Northampton . I 2 3 4 7 8 1 1 13 14 14 ■5 16 17 17 18 [9 2u 21 - -4 ^5 XVI CONTENTS OF CHAPTER II. POWICK BRIDGE AND EDGEHII.I,. ir>42 Plans of Essex and Charles . September 13. — Charles leaves Nottingham September 1 9. — Charles's manifesto 1 )esire for peace in the King's army Charles at Shrewsbury and Chester ( 'ondition of the Parliamentary troops Militant Puritanism September 14. — Essex reviews his army. State of Oxford September 19. — Essex marches on Worcester September 23. — The fight at Powick Bridge September 24. — Essex occupies Worcester Local struggles . . . . Hopton in Cornwall .... September 29. — Pacification of Yorkshire . October 4. — The pacification broken by Ilotham's seizur Cawood Castle ...... 1 1 espective strength of the two parties October. — The Houses shrink from imposing taxation \lkarles supported by the Catholics The Queen's activity in Holland October 12. — Charles sets out from Shrewsbury Measures taken for the defence of London Charles sends to Denmark for help October 20. — Pytn proposes an Association October 21. — A new army to be levied Cromwell's conversation with Hampden Essex follows Charles .... October 23.— Charles at Edgehill . Rupert and Lindsey .... The King descends into the plain . Rupert's charge Victory of the Royalist cavalry Stubborn resistance of the Parliamentary foot Destruction of the Royal Foot Guards . Return of the King's cavalry End of the battle ..... October 25. — Essex retires to Warwick October 29. — Oxford occupied by the King PAGE 27 28 28 29 30 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 38 39 39 40 4i 42 43 44 45 45 46 47 48 49 5o 5i 52 53 54 56 57 58 59 59 THE FIRST VOLUME. XVil CHAPTER III. TTJRNHAll GREEN. 1642 Precautions taken in London ..... The Peace Party in the Houses ..... November 3. — The King asked to open negotiations . November 7. — An invitation to the Scuts Rupert's plunderings ....... November 9. — A petition to be seDt to the King November 11. — Charles orders an attack on Brentford November 12. — Rupert seizes Brentford .... November 13. — The Parliamentary army at Turnham Green Charles draws off ....... . November 14. — Essex throws a bridge across the Thames •»- November 16. — Charles accused of duplicity . November 19. — Charles retires to Reading . Views of the Parliamentary parties .... November 27. — End of the negotiation November 25. — The Houses resolve to levy a tax . November 26. — The Queen'3 plans revealed Unconstitutional taxation ...... December 5. — Marlborough stormed by the Royalists . Evacuation of Worcester by the Parliamentarians . l'AOK 6O 61 62 63 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 7i 71 73 74 74 75 76 76 CHAPTER IV. THE CRT FOR PEACE. 1642 The King's strategy ....... Strength of local feeling Hopton in Cornwall ....... Sir Bevil Grenvile Hopton occupies Tavistock ...... December 6. — The Fairfaxes defeated at Tadcaster . Charles hopes for reinforcements from the Continent and from Ireland ....... December 8. — Ordinance for a general taxation December 6. — Lilburne indicted as a traitor Double appointment to the Mastership of the Rolls The Royalist party in the City ..... December 13. — The Lords prepare propositions for peace December 14. — Stamford evacuates Hereford Hopton overruns the greater part of Devonshire December 20. — The Eastern Associate in 78 79 79 80 81 82 83 84 84 85 86 87 88 88 89 I. a xvni CONTENTS OF if 1. 1 j Progress of the war in the south and we9t December 22. — The Lords' propositions considered by the Oommons ........ Deeember 26. — The Commons vote for opening negotiations The Peace party The War party 1643 January 2. — The King receives the agents of the City Petitions for peace January 13. — Charles's terms rejected by the City Refusal to pay Parliamentary taxes The Lords' propositions amended by the Commons Stamford drives Ilopton out of Devonshire January 19. — Royalist victory at Bradock Down February 2.- — Cirencester taken by the Royalists 1642 December. — Newcastle's operations in the West Riding 1643 January 27. — Success of Sir Thomas Fairfax at Leeds January 28. — Success of Brereton at Nantwich . PAOIJ 90 91 92 92 93 94 95 96 97 97 98 99 100 100 101 102 CHAPTER V THE TREATY OF OXFORD. 1643 February 1. — The peace propositions presented to the King February 3. — The King's counter-proposals February I. — Financial difficulties at Westminster Discussions in the Commons on the peace propositions February 8. — New proposals sent to Charles February 2. — The Queen sets sail from Holland February 23 — Lands at Bridlington Quay . March I.— Articles of Cessation presented to the King March 6. — The King's reply .... February 24. — A general Parliamentary tax imposed The King gains ground in the Midlands March 2 — Lord Brooke killed at Lichfield March 4. — Surrender of Lichfield Cathedral March 7. — Rupert's attempt on Bristol . Charles alienates the Lords ..... March 18. — Fresh overtures made by Parliament . March 28. — Charles attempts to get possession of the ships and forts ........ March 27. — Ordinance of Sequestration .... March 28. — Pym's proposed excise rejected . March 30. — Expulsion of the Capuchins and wreck of th Queen's chapel ....... Despondency of the friends of peace .... 103 103 105 105 107 108 109 no III III 112 113 113 114 115 H5 Il6 Il6 117 Il8 Il8 THE FIItST VOLUME. XIX 1643 March 24. — Sir William Waller defeats the Welsh at Highnam ........ State of Yorkshire ....... March 31. — Sir Hugh Cholinley delivers up Scarborough Castle April 2. — The Fairfaxes at Leeds .... March 19. — Battle of Hopton Heath .... April 3. — Rupert at Birmingham .... April 10. — Rupert besieges Lichfield Cathedral April 12. — The King's final terms .... April 14. — The treaty at an end ..... CHAPTER VI. IEISH CATHOLICS AND SCOTCH PRESBYTERIANS. 1643 Hyde as a counsellor March 26. — Origin of Waller's plot .... Charles's expectations from Ireland .... 1642 March 22. — Overtures from Ireland .... The Synod of Kells Progress of the war in Ireland ..... Freston and Owen O'Neill ...... September I.— Despondency of the Government at Dublin September 29. — Expedition of Lord Lisle Ormond's conciliatory tendencies ..... October 24. — General Assembly of the Confederate Catholics at Kilkenny The Supreme Council December. — Fresh petition to the King .... October 29. — A deputation from the English House of Commons at Dublin ...... November 29. — Leicester's virtual recall 1643 January II. — Charles orders the opening of negotiations with the Irish ....... January 30. — Reception of his orders in Dublin March 18. — Battle of Ross The grievances of the Irish Catholics .... Opinion of the Lords' Justices ..... March 31. — Tichborue succeeds Parsons as Lord Justice April 23. — Ormond to treat for a cessation and to bring the army to Eugland ....... February. — Scottish Commissioners offer to mediate in England ......... Montrose proposes to begin a war in Scotland May. — Hamilton's policy preferred by the King a 2 120 121 122 122 123 124 125 125 126 127 128 129 130 130 131 132 *33 134 134 135 136 137 137 138 139 140 141 142 M3 144 '45 •45 146 147 XX CONTENTS OF CHAPTER VN. READING AND STRATTON. 1643 April 15.- — Essex lays siege to Heading April 25. — Charles fails to relieve the town . April 26. — Capitulation of Reading .... April 25. — Hereford surprised by Waller April 25. — Hopton repulsed at Sourton Down Essex hindered from attacking Oxford by want of money April 18. — Quarrel between Henry Marten and North urn berland ........ April 24. — Tconoclasm in London and Westminster May 1. — Pyrn's diplomacy ...... The King's want of ammunition .... May 13-17. — Supplies sent to both armies . Want of organisation in the Parliamentary army . Superiority of the Royalist strategy .... Stamford advances into Cornwall .... May 16. — The battle of Stratton .... Chudleigh's desertion ...... Ilopton's advance into Devonshire .... May 21. — Wakefield surprised ..... Proposed cession of Orkney and Shetland to the King of Denmark ........ April 15. — Treachery of the Hothams May. — Cromwell in the eastern counties He fails to secure the aid of the local forces against Newark May 13. — Skirmish near Grantham .... May 28. — Cromwell's financial difficulties Waller's plot The Pt- ace-party in the Lords ...... May 23. — The Queen impeached ..... May 31. — -Arrest of Waller and Tompkins Effect of the discovery of the plot .... June 6. — The Parliamentary Covenant .... June 14. — The licensing of the press .... CHAPTER VIII. THE ROYALIST VICTORIES. 1643 June 16. — Essex advances against Oxford June 18. — Chalgrove Field June 24. — Death of Hampden . .... June 20. — Charles declares Parliament to be no longer free June 25. — Wycombe plundered .... 149 150 151 152 152 152 153 154 '54 155 156 156 157 158 159 161 162 163 163 164 165 166 167 168 •■ 168 169 170 171 173 174 174 175 176 178 181 182 THE FIRST VOLUME. XXI PAGE 1643 June 28. — Essex tenders his resignation . . . .182 June 12. — Waller denounces Conway and Portland . . 183 July 5. — Execution of Tompkins and Cbaloner . . . 184 Treatment of the other conspirators . . . . . 184 June 2. — A gathering at Nottingham . . . . .185 Misconduct of Captain Hotham . . . . . . 186 June 18. — Hotham's arrest and escape 187 June 29. — The two Hothams captured and sent prisoners to London 1 88 June 30. — Defeat of the Fairfaxes at Adwalton Moor . .189 July 4. — The two Fairfaxes at Hull . . . . . 190 July 2. — The Queen fails to secure Lincoln . . . • i'9i July 3. — The Queen sets out for Oxford . . . . . 192 Movements of Essex . . . . . . . .192 July 11. — Parliament refuses to negotiate . . . . 193 July 13. — Meeting of Charles and the Queen . . . 194 June. — Hopton joins Hertford and Prince Maurice . . . 195 June. — Fight at Chewton Mendip . . . . .196 June 16. — Correspondence between Hopton and Waller . . 196 July 3. — Skirmish at Munkton Farleigh . . . .198 July 5. — Battle of Lansdown 199 July 9. — Hopton at Devizes ...... 202 July 13. — Battle of Rouudway Down 203 CHAPTER IX. BRISTOL AND GAINSBOROUGH. 1643 May 10. — A Convention of the Scottish Estates summoned. 205 Plans of Montrose and Antrim 206 June. — Effect in Scotland of their disclosures . . . 207 June 22. — Meeting of the Convention of Estates . . . 208 July 19. — The English Parliament asks for a Scottish army 209 July 22. — The excise ordinance . . . . . . 209 July 26. — Rupert takes Bristol . . . . . .210 July 27. — Reception of Sir W. AValler in the City . ..211 Anti-Royalist feeling of the City . . . . . .212 July 28. — Demands of Essex . 213 Struggle of the Peace-party and the War-party for the sup- port of Essex . . . . . . . .214 August 3. — The Lords draw up propositions for peace . . 215 August 5. — The Commons resolve to take them into con- sideration . . . . . . . . .216 August 7. — Tumults in Palace Yard . . . . . 217 The propo-itions rejected by the Cnnmons .... 218 August 8-9. — Mobs of women in Palace Yard . . . 219 Wll CONTENTS OF [643 August 10. — The Commons give reasons for rejecting the propositions ........ July 24. — Cromwell takes Burghley House July 28, — 1 1 is victory at Gainsborough His retreat before Newcastle's army .... July 30. — Gainsborough and Lincoln surrender to the Royal ists . . . • • • . . August 6. — Cromwell calls for help .... A ugust 10. — Manchester to command the army of the Eastern Association ........ Dorsetshire overrun by the Royalists .... 220 221 222 223 224 224 225 226 CHAPTER X. GLOUCESTER AND NEWBURY. 1643 Strength of local feeling on botli sides Resistance of Hull, Plymouth, and Gloucester Discord between the Royalist commanders . August I. — Charles at Bristol A siege of Gloucester resolved on Massey's complaints ..... August 10. — Gloucester summoned Desertion of Parliamentary Peers to the King State of opinion at Oxford .... Reception of the deserting Peers August 18. — A Parliamentary forced loan . August 16. — Henry Marten expelled the House August 26. — Essex sets out to relieve Gloucester September 4. — Repulse of Rupert . September 5. — The siege of Gloucester raised September 8. — Essex enters Gloucester . August 28-31. — Surrender of Barnstaple and Bideford September 4. — Surrender of Exeter September 1 1 . — Manoeuvres of the two armies September 18. — Skirmish on Aldbourn Chase. September 19. — Essex establishes his head-quarters at En borne Street ....... Plans of Essex and the King .... September 20. — Beginning of the first battle of Newbury Death of Falkland The fight on Enborne Heath The struggle in the centre .... Attack on the Parliamentary left The King's retreat ...... Causes of Charles's failure .... The Falkland monument .... September 22.— Essex arrives at Reading . 228 229 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 243 244 245 246 248 249 250 251 2 ^2 253 254 255 256 257 THE FIRST VOLUME. XX111 CHAPTER XI. THE IRISH CESSATION AND THE SOLEMN LEAGUE AND COVENANT. 1643 June I. — Ormond proposes a cessation of hostilities in Ire- land .......... June 24. — He attempts to come to terms with the con- federates ........ July. — Warlike operations renewed .... Views of the Supreme Council and of the Nationalists Difficulties in the way of Irish nationality August, — Progress of the negotiation . September 1 5. — The cessation August. — Montrose at Gloucester .... Charles prefers Hamilton as an adviser .... The Scottish Presbyterian clergy . Their mistake in wishing to impose their system on England August 7. — Arrival of the English Commissioners at Edin- burgh .......... August 8. — Opening of negotiations Henderson's draft of the Covenant amended by Vane . August 17. — The Covenant adopted in Scotland . . . August 26. — The Covenant submitted by the English Par- liament to the Assembly of Divines . September I. — The Covenant discussed in the House of Commons ......... The Covenant adopted with amendments by both Houses . September 25. — Nye's address The Covenant taken by the House of Commons and the Assembly ......... Effect of the Irish cessation on Protestant opinion TAGR 258 259 259 260 262 263 264 264 265 265 267 268 269 270 272 272 273 275 275 276 277 CHAPTER XII. WI3CEBY AND ARUNDEL. 1643 September 26. — Essex thanked by Parliament October 3. — Reading occupied by the Royalists October 6. — Money gathered for the Scots September 16. — Capitulation of Lynn . September 2. — Newcastle besieges Hull . Movements of Fairfax and Cromwell . October 1 1. — "Winceby fight .... Newcastle before Hull .... October 12. — The siege of Hull raised October 20. — Lincoln retaken by Manchester October 15. — Royalist occupation of Newport Pagnell 278 279 280 280 2S1 281 282 283 284 284 285 XXIV CONTENrS OF TAGK 1643 October 30. — The Royalists abandon Newport Pagnell and occupy Towcester ....... 286 Parliamentary finance ........ 286 October 15. — The Lords take tbe Covenant . . . 287 October 23. — Landing of regiments from Ireland . . . 287 October 19. — Laud's impeachment to be proceeded with . 288 Royalist armies to be formed under Ilopton and Byron . . 290 October 19 — Complicated instructions sent to Ormond . 291 November 10. —Native Irish soldiers to serve Charles in England 292 November 7. — Waller attacks Basing House . . . 293- November 14. — Desertion of the Londoners . . . . 294 November 18. — Troops from Ireland in Flintshire . . 294 November 28. — The City asks that its tr nops may be recalled . 295- Decenber 4.— Vote on the strength of Essex's army . . 295- Hopton in Hampshire ........ 296 December 9. — Arundel Castle surrenders to Ilopton . . 297 1644 January 6.— "Waller recovers the castle 298 CHAPTER XIII. PRESBYTERIANS AND INDEPENDENTS. 1643 December 8. — Death of Pym ..... Pym's character and work ...... December 22. — Charles summons Parliament to meet at Ox ford ....... Royalist intrigues ...... The five dissenting brethren in the Assembly Reaction against the Covenant Presbyterianism favoured by the Assembly . The question of toleration raised October 17.— Ogle's plot .... December. — The plot betrayed The Independents draw back The Independents rely upon the Assembly December 23. — Declaration by the Assembly in their favour 1644 January 1. — The apologetical narration .... January 6-9. — Fresh offers from Oxford 1643 December. — Brooke's plot ...... 1644 January 6. — Brooke's plot denounced .... 1643 May 4.— Death of Louis XIII October. — Harcourt's mission ..... 1644 January 10. — Lord Goring's intercepted letter January 18. — The City banquet ..... Charles offers liberty of conscience ..... January 21.— Failure of the King's attempt on Aylesbury 299 300 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 3ii 312 313 3'4 315 315 316 3'7 3i8 319 319 320 322 323 THE FIRST VOLUME. xxv CHAPTER XIV. LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE. 1644 Tendencies working for liberty ..... 1640-1 Character and activity of Fuller . .... 1642 December 28. — His plea for peace ..... 1643 March 27. — Preaches a Royalist sermon July 26. — His sermon on Reformation .... His flight to Oxford ....... Nature of his opposition to Puritanism .... October 13. — Chillingworth on Publicans and Pharisees 1644 January 6. — lie is taken prisoner at Arundel and falls into Cheynell's hands ....... His death and funeral ....... Nature of the controversy between Chillingworth and Cheynell ......... Views of the Separatists ...... The Baptists declare for complete separation between Church and State ........ 1635 Roger Williams in Massachusetts .... 1636 He settles in Providence ...... 1644 March 14. — Obtains a Parliamentary Charter for Providence July. — The Bloody Tenent of Persecution . March. — An anonymous tract on Liberty of Conscience . PAG ' 3-4 325 326 327 327 328 329 330 33' 332 334 335 336 337 338 339 339 34i CHAPTER XV. TlIE COMMITTEE OF BOTH KINGDOMS. 1644 January 19. — The Scots cross the Tweed .... 345 1643 December. — Operations in Cheshire. . . ... 345 1644 January 25. — The battle of Nantwich .... 346 January 30. — Byron calls for the Irish . . . . . 347 English feeling against the Irish ...... 348 Imprisonment of Lothian and Hamilton ..... 349 Montrose's scheme accepted by Charles . . . . 350 January 22. — Tbe meeting of the Oxford Parliament . . 351 , January 27.— It asks Essex to join in bringing about a peace 352 January 30. — Essex's reply ....... 353 Sir E. Dering submits to Parliament ..... 353 b. February 5. — Covenant to be universally imposed . . . 354 January 22. — Manchester ordered to reform the University of Cambridge 354 Results of Manchester's visitation . . . . . . 355 Dispute between Manchester and Willoughby . . . 356 January 30. — Motion for a committee to treat with the Scots .......... 357 XXV] CONTENTS OF 1644 February 1. — Proposal for a Committee of Government February 16. — Institution of the Committee of Both King doms ......... G«-rm of the Cabinet system February 19. — Fresh overtures from Oxford . March 12. — On their rejection the Oxford Parliament de- clares the supporters of the Westminster Parliament guilty of treason ....... Royal and Parliamentary finance ..... January 16. — Cromwell in Ely Cathedral . Nature of Cromwell's toleration principles February I. — Cromwell appointed Lieutenant-General March 10, — Cromwell's letter to Crawford Character of the sectaries ..... March. — Death of Cromwell's son ..... paoh 358 359 360 361 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 369 CHAPTER XVI. NEWAEK, CHERIT0K, AND SELBY. 1644 January 28, — Newcastle calls for help February 6. — Rupert sets out for the North . March 2 1 . — The relief of Newark Newcastle falls back before the Scots April 3. — Rupert recalled April 4. — The recall countermanded Sir Richard Grenvile ...... March. — Hopton's movements in Hampshire . March 27, — Forth and Hopton occupy Alresford March 28. — Waller is pushed back . March 29.— Battle of Cheriton .... Retreat of the Royalists March 9. — Germ of the idea of the King's dethronement Jaauary 12. — Arrival of Dutch ambassadors February 12. — A Dutch marriage proposed for the Prince of Wales March 14.— Dutch mediation offered . April. — Waller's successes .... Intentiou of the Queen to leave Oxford April 11. — The King reviews his army . April 16.— Prorogation of the OxfordParliament April 17.— The Queen leaves Oxford February 23.— Antrim at Kilkenny . Distress of the Scots in Ulster Portland made President of Munster . March 29.— Demands of the Irish Catholic agents at Oxford 371 372 373 374 375 375 376 377 378 378 380 384 385 386 386 387 388 388 389 389 39o 39° 39i 392 392 THE FIRST VOLUME. XXVll 1644 Prospects of the campaign ...... April 8. — Remonstrance i>f Essex .... April 13. — Oilers of tbe City April 12. — AValler retreats to Farnham April 13. — A negotiation proposed . .... April 19. — Essex not ready to move .... April 29. — The peace propositions of the Committee of Rotl Kingdoms ... Conflict, between the Houses ..... May 22, — Reappointment of the Committee of Both King. doms ......... The siege of Lyme ....... April 25. — Rupert at Oxford ...... May 6. — Lincoln taken by Manchester May 19. — Reading occupied by Essex and "Waller . Feeling at Oxford about the Irish offers May 22. — The negotiation with the Irish turned over to Ormonde . May 30. — The Dutch marriage treaty taken up by Charles May 26. — Abingdon occupied by Essex . The King's plan of operations .... May 28. — Movements of Essex and Waller June 3. — Charles leaves Oxford .... June 4. — Massey takes Tewkesbury June 12. — Charles arrives at Bewdley June 6. — Essex resolves to march into the AVest June 12. — The Committee of Roth Kingdoms orders Essex to return ....... June 14. — Ess CAVALIERS AND ROUNDHEADS. chap. Charles on the day of baffled hopes when he had _ L _- swooped down in vain upon the five members at l64-'- Westminster, combined in that cry with many a gentleman of high temper and generous instincts, who mitarlia~ presented the nation, and that the King's followers were a mere handful of delinquents acting traitor- ously to the nation, and therefore liable to those penalties of death and confiscation of property which had been meted out by kings to all who had traitor- ously levied war against themselves. On any larger consideration it was as impolitic as it was unjustifi- able. It was a sentence of confiscation suspended over the heads of all who had resisted the pretensions of Parliament. It completed the division of England into two opposite camps, and threatened to lengthen out the Civil War beyond all possible calculation. Up to this moment there had been nothing but hesitation at Nottingham.2 There would be no hesitation now. Those who had been eager for peace would never accept it .on such terms. Those who had been eager Eiiect of . this Decla- for war would no longer fear lest the King should ration at abandon them to the vengeance of their enemies.3 ham!"' 1 L.J. v. 341. 2 Giustinian to the Doge, Sept. T8S. Venetian MSS. 3 Both Clarendon and D'Ewes take the same view of the effect of the reply of Parliament. The latter (JEFarl. MSS. 163, fol. 318b) writes that 22 CAVALIERS AND ROUNDHEADS. CI,1A1>- The threat of confiscation converted many a luke- l6" warm supporter into an enthusiastic partisan. Dur- ing the week which followed the reception of the Parliament's answer, recruits poured in from all quar- ters, and before many days Charles found himself at the head of an army of 10,000 men. Parliament had given to Charles a numerous and loyal following, but it could not give him more. It was for himself to convert his resistance into a national movement. If he could proclaim aloud what he had authorised Falkland to whisper in secret, he would have gone far to disarm opposition. Un- happily for himself, this was what he could not do. His proposal represented, at the most, but a passing mood. Having failed to do his work it was flung aside, with the sole result of increasing the suspicions of those to whom it had been made, when they saw concessions so distinctly held out and so recklessly abandoned. Sept. 7. The adoption by the Houses of a policy of Episcopacy n • ,," r J to be confiscation was followed by a high bid for the assistance of the Scots. The General Assembly had lately suggested that unity of religion would prove the soundest basis of a political alliance. On September 7, the Commons, without a dissentient voice, approved of a letter in which the Scots were assured that episcopacy should be abolished, and this sept. 10. letter was ratified by the Lords.1 It is true that the promise which it contained had no legal force, but it marked the time at which those who now posed as by it the Houses < made not only particular persons of the nobility and others, but some whole counties quite desperate ... by which means without a special providence of God, they wer6 likely to help the King in his distressed condition with those considerable forces which he was never else likely to obtain.' 1 C.J. ii. 754 ; L.J. v. 348. THE PARLIAMENTARY ARMY. 2$ the nation, set themselves to reorganise the institutions chap. • i of the Church, not upon mature consideration of the 'r — - whole conditions of the problem, but according to l 42' the exigencies of warfare. Such pretensions could only be made good by Themffi- overwhelming force, and at this time Parliament had tion. every reason to believe that such a force was at its disposal. On the 7th Portsmouth capitulated to Sir Sept. 7. . Surrender William Waller,1 and, with the exception of Slier- of Ports- borne Castle, where Hertford still held out, all the South of England acknowledged the authority of the Houses. In the East and in the South, as well as in the Eastern Midlands, there was no sign of reluctance, and in those days the South and East of England contained by far the greater part of the wealth and population of the country. The principal army, with The Pariia- which it was .intended to strike the decisive blow, was army. quartered about Coventry and Northampton, and re- inforcements were daily being forwarded to it to increase that numerical superiority over the King's army which it still possessed. The Parliamentary army had all the weakness of its want of new-levied troops, and it had special weaknesses of its ( l8Cip me' own. Some of the soldiers of whom it was com- posed anticipated the stern Puritanism of the New Model, but there were others who were attracted by the prospects of a holiday, the expenses of which were not to fall upon themselves. On their way from London they broke into churches, burnt Com- munion rails, and tore up Prayer-books and surplices. A clergyman found wearing a surplice was held to be a fair mark for insult and outrage. Royalist houses were plundered, and fat bucks in Royalist parks sli<»t 1 A declaration <>f all the passages at the taking <ti Notting- ham. tin nigh he was no longer in danger of a surprise, as Essex still believed him to be, was not yet strong enough to accept a battle, resolved to march west- ( iharles's plans. 28 POWICK P.UIDGE AND EDGEIIILL. Sept. 13. Charles leaves Notting- ham. CHI^1'- wards in search of reinforcements. A body of 5,000 l6' Welshmen were only awaiting his arrival to join him, and Shropshire and Cheshire had a sufficiently large cavalier element to furnish him with a contingent.1 Chester was the port of transit for Ireland, offering possibilities of future aid from that quarter. On the 13th, Charles left Nottingham. If the gentry of Nottinghamshire and the neighbouring shires were mainly on his side, the opinion of the townsmen and the freeholders was against him. He therefore disarmed the trained bands, and distributed their pikes and muskets amongst his followers. On his way he sought to bind more closely to his cause all who now bore arms in his defence, by reiterating the assurances, which he had frequently given of late, that he had no intention of returning to the Sept. 19. system of Laud and Strafford. On the 19th, on festotohis the road between Stafford and Wellington, he called his army round him : " Your consciences and your loyalty," he said, " have brought you hither, to fight for your religion, your King, and the laws of the land. You shall meet with no enemies but traitors, most of them Brownists, Anabaptists, and Atheists ; such who desire to destroy both Church and State, and who have already condemned you to ruin for being loyal to us." He would promise that, if God gave him the victory, he would ' defend and main- tain the true Eeformed Protestant religion established in the Church of England ; ' he would ' govern ac- cording to the known laws of the land, maintain the just privileges and freedom of Parliament,' and ' observe inviolably the laws ' to which he had given his consent in the existing Parliament. He hoped 1 Nicholas to "Roe, Sept. 13; Nicholas to Boswell, Sept. 15. S.P. Dam. Special Passages, E. n8; 10. •no' CHARLES'S MANIFESTO. 29 that if, in waging war, lie was compelled temporarily chap. to violate the law, the mischief which would ensue might be laid at the door of those who were the real authors of the war.1 The effect of this manifesto was all that Charles its effect, could wish. Those who heard him, and thousands more who subsequently read his words, enthusiasti- cally responded to an appeal which was directed to one of the strongest of the permanent instincts of human nature : its desire to be guarded by the law and customs to which it has long been habituated. Charles's partisans, at least, did not care to remind him that it was mockery to ask those who believed that the existing law consecrated injustice to be content to wait for the removal of that injustice till the King and a complete House of Lords were ready to attend to their complaints. Yet, even among Charles's own followers, voices of dissatisfaction were raised. Those who could think of no way in which Puritans might be con- ciliated were disgusted at the favourable reception accorded by Charles to Catholics. " How much I ^Sept. 21. am unsatisfied with the proceedings here," wrote letter" Spencer to his wife, " I have at large expressed in several letters. Neither is there wanting daily hand- some occasion to retire, were it not for grinning honour. For let occasion be never so handsome, unless a man were resolved to light on the Parlia- ment side, which, for my part, I had rather be hanged, it will be said without doubt that a man is afraid to fight. If there could be an expedient found to salve the punctilio of honour, I would not continue here an hour. The discontent that I and many other honest men receive daily is beyond expression." 2 ! L.J. v. 376. - Spencer to Lady Spencer, Sept. 2 1 . Sidney Papers, ii. 667. lO POWIOK BRIDGE AND EDGKIIILL. en \l\ II. " T 1642. Sept. 20. Charles a( Shrews- bury. Sept. 23. Anil at t Ihester. Rumours of the mutinous state of Essex's army. Condition of the Parlia- mentary troops. Into this desire for peace, fear of the enemy no longer entered. On the 20th, Charles occupied Shrewsbury; on the 23rd he made himself master of Chester. The neighbouring gentry flocked in to fight for him, as they had Hocked in at Nottingham. Exaggerated rumours of the mutinous state of the Parliamentary army were rife in the royal quarters. It was generally believed that Essex's men de- serted as fast as they came in, and that those who remained with the colours were entirely beyond con- trol. Some of them, it was said, had jeeringly refused to obey orders by calling out to the officers who gave them, " We are all fellow-traitors here." 1 Such men, it was thought, would either run away, or desert to the Kino; in the first engagement. O DO Such rumours were not entirely baseless. The city apprentices, or the country labourers, of whom Essex's army was in great part composed, were as yet unaccustomed to the control of military discipline. With large numbers of them the old feeling, that it was a sin as well as a crime to resist the Kino;, had not yet died out. The doctrine that they were sum- moned to fight for King and Parliament was, in- deed, no merely hypocritical pretext. Those who an- nounced it deduced from that constitutional doctrine which Pym had enunciated in his assault upon Straf- ford— the doctrine that the King is weakened and endangered by separating himself from Parliament — the principle that whoever fought for Parliament was in reality fighting for the King as well. Whatever might be said in its favour, it was, at least, wanting in the directness which alone commends a principle to ordinary minds. Men who had been trained up under teachers who had assured them that rebellion 1 Nicholas to Boswell, Sept. 15. S.P. Bom. MAJORITIES AND MINORITIES. 3 1 was the worst of impieties could not help feeling chat. uncomfortable when they were called on to march in — <- — battle array against the King in person. 1 42' Whether, if the King had obtained the upper hand, the Parliamentary liberties of the country would have been safe in the hands of the Spencers and the Southamptons is a question which may be answered in various ways by different persons, but there can be no doubt whatever that Puritanism would not have been safe. To thousands of English- men, Puritanism was the very Gospel itself, the voice of God speaking to a careless generation. Those, Militant who believed this were ready to die rather than i^.tan' allow God's voice upon earth to be silenced. If the existing law was against it, let the law be broken. If Parliamentary majorities were against it, let them be silenced. It was this feeling, entirely ignored by the Poyalists, which was already leavening Essex's army, and which was ultimately thoroughly to per- meate the army of Fairfax and Cromwell. Such a feeling demands something more than respectful recognition from those whose lot has fallen in days when strength of conviction has no need to assert its rights by the sword, because it is allowed free space to win its way by the tongue and the pen. It is to the pressure of determined minorities, weighing, in the full light of freedom, upon lukewarm or hostile majorities, that all worthy reforms are still owing. That the use of force only renders the object aimed at more difficult of attainment was precisely the fact which Charles and Hyde were unable to perceive, and which, it must in fairness be acknowledged, their Puritan opponents were also unable to per- ceive. If Charles could not understand the religious POWICK MIMDCJI-: AND EDGEIIILL. ci*ap. strength of the army opposed to him, still less could ' — y — ' he understand the offence given by the rough and ready ways by which Rupert was collecting supplies. The two motives for resistance were significantly joined together in some letters from Nehemiah Wharton, a subaltern in Essex's army. " Wednesday morning," he wrote, " we had tidings that Prince Rupert, that diabolical cavalier, had surrounded Leicester and demanded 2,000/. or else threatened to plunder the town ; whereupon our soldiery were even mad to be at them. . . . Friday morning, worthy Mr. Obadiah Sedgwick gave us a worthy sermon, and my company in particular inarched to hear him in rank and file. Mr. John Sedgwick was appointed to preach in the afternoon, but we had news that Prince Rupert had plundered Marlborough and fired some adjacent towns, and our regiment was imme- diately drawn into the field. . . . Sabbath-day morn- ing, Mr. Marshall, that worthy champion of Christ, preached unto us ; afternoon, Mr. Ash. These, with their sermons, have already subdued and satisfied more malignant spirits amongst us than a thousand armed men could have done." l The indignation with which Rupert was regarded was none the less genuine because many of the Par- liamentary soldiers had been guilty of plundering innocent householders, or of shooting deer in the parks of the Royalist gentry. The time was now coming when the military ardour of the soldiers would be put to Sept. i4. the test. On September [4, the day after the King viewshis quitted Nottingham, Essex reviewed his army at army. Northampton. He saw enough to convince him that there was no hope of maintaining order unless his troops were punctually paid. On the 15th he wrote 1 Wharton to Willinghain, Sept. 13. Archceol. xxxv. 322. FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES. 33 to request the Houses to send him 100,000/. He was chap. still confident that with that sum, and ' with God's • A — - blessing,' he should be able 'to bring these unhappy ^ *** distractions to an end suddenly.'1 The Houses, as And sends usual, appealed to the City, and before long the for money, new Lord Mayor was able to report that the collec- Sept. 17. . . tt i Which is tion of the money was going vigorously on. Volun- provided tary in name, this contribution was not easy to city. evade. " The whole City," as the soldiers tersely put it, " were now either real or constrained Sound- heads."2 As Essex looked to London the King had no less July ". . , Money sent naturally turned to Oxford for support. As early as to the J L Kin# from July 11, the University and several of the colleges Oxford, sent money and plate to the King. On August 13, an order was given for a view of arms. Graduates and undergraduates eagerly responded to the appeal. Books were flung away, and day after day some three Aug. i3. or four hundred members of the University diligently 0frtiieng practised their drill. On the 28th, Sir John Byron "l^g. appeared with a body of the King's horse. An g™*10' attempt was made to fortify the city. Bows and B>'ron- arrows were purchased to serve in the defence. Oxford, however, was, as yet, too far from the King's quarters to hold its own. The townsmen, for the most part, were favourable to the Parliament, and on September 10 Byron rode off, taking with him about Sept- 1°- one hundred armed scholars as volunteers, and what leaves r\ 1 Oxford. money he had been able to collect. On the 12th, .Sept- 12_ Colonel Goodwin arrived at the head of a Parlia- °*["prJed mentary force, and on the 14th he was followed by ' Lord Say, who had come as the Parliamentary Lord 1 ' Suddenly ' means ' soon.' 2 C.J. ii. 772. The Parliament's instructions. E. 118, 11. Common Council Journal Book, Sept. 15. xi. fol. 38. I. D ment. 34 POWICK BRIDGE AND EDGEIIILL. CHAP. II. 1642. Sept. 14. Say at Oxford. Sept. 19. Byron at Worcester Sept. 22. The march to Wor- cester. Lieutenant of the county, to trample out the dis- affection of the University. Say's conduct was as conciliatory as could be ex- pected. There was a bonfire in the street of ' Papist ' books and pictures, and the soldiers scoffed at the idolatrous windows in the Cathedral, and fired shots at the images of the Virgin with the infant Saviour in her arms, over the gates of St. Mary's and All Souls. Say, however, was lenient with the University itself. The Christ Church plate he found hidden behind a wainscot, and this, with other con- cealed property, he adjudged to be lawful prize, but he told the Fellows that as long as they kept their plate ' in places fit for plate, the treasury or buttery,' it ' should remain untouched.' Most of the colleges promised to comply with Say's requirement, re- ceiving from him in return an assurance that there should be no attempt to injure the liberties and privileges of the University.1 Whilst Say was doing his best to establish the authority of the Parliament in Oxford, Byron was making his way towards Worcester, which he entered on the 16th. The news quickened the movements of Essex, who broke up from Northampton on the 19th, moving westwards in a direction parallel with the King's march on Shrewsbury. The next clay he was told that Eupert was fortifying Worcester. On the 22nd there was the rumour, which ultimately proved false, to the effect that a battle was already raging before the city between Byron and a Parliamentary detachment sent under Nathaniel Fiennes in advance of the main army. Shouts of "To Worcester ! to 1 Compare Wood's Hist, of the Univ. of Oxford, ed. Gutch, ii. 438, with the dedication of CheyuelTs Rise, Growth, and Danyer of Socinianism, E. 103, 14. THE FIRST SKIRMISH. 35 Worcester ! " were heard along the ranks, and one regiment at least pressed on for two miles at a running pace. The next day there was equal eager- ness. The army was now but four miles from Wor- cester, and the soldiers were clamouring to be led to battle.1 The day did not pass without fighting. Worcester was no place to be defended against a superior force. Its walls were in ruin, and Byron had made up his mind to retreat. Rupert had arrived to cover his Rupert 1 . at Wor- march ; but Rupert was not content with the simple tester, fulfilment of so humble a task. Whilst Byron was preparing to march off with his treasure, the Prince rode out to the south with a small body of horse. Finding no enemy, the party dismounted to rest upon the grass. Suddenly Rupert espied a body of well- armed cavalry making its way towards him along a narrow lane. They were Fiennes' horse, who had been induced to leave their strong position behind ThefiRht . _ . J at Powick the Teme at Powick Bridge by the news which Bridge. reached them from Worcester that Byron was on the move. Flinging himself on horseback, Rupert called upon his followers to charge. In an instant the two bodies were in collision. The Royalists were without defensive armour, but they had the advantage, always so great with raw troops, of being the attacking force. The Parliamentarians were driven back in confusion as they attempted to struggle out of the lane. After a short resistance they broke and fled. For nine miles they did not draw rein, long after the enemy had ceased to follow them. At last, crossing the Severn at Upton, they came up at Pershore with Essex's body-guard of a hundred picked men, many of whom afterwards occupied high posts in 1 Wharton to "Willingham, Sept. 26. Archccol. xxxv. 324. 36 POWICK BRIDGE AND EDGEIIILL. CHAP. II. 1642. Worcester evacuated. Sept. 24. Ksscx at Worcester. Sept. 27. Prediction of Falk- land. that Cromwellian army where cowardice found no toleration. They were as yet new to war, and they too galloped in hot haste away from a foe who was many miles distant, and who had wheeled round as soon as victory was secured.1 A successful skirmish could not save Worcester for the King, and on the 24 st, having been evacuated by Eupert and Byron, it was occupied by Essex. On the ground that Worcester remained in the possession of the Parliamentary army, the London press, never weary of claiming victory in battles which had never been fought, declared that the King had been worsted at Powick Bridge. The Eoyalists, with better reason, asserted that the Round- heads had been defeated. They saw in their own success the certain assurance of a victory far more decisive.2 The prisoners, wrote Falkland, were most of them raw soldiers, who acknowledged themselves to be ' tailors or embroiderers, or the like.' One of the officers, who had died of his wound, had with his last breath asked pardon of God and man for engag- ing in rebellion. Such men, Falkland thought, could not long resist the well-mounted and loyal gentlemen who followed the Royal standard.3 1 I have taken ray account from Clarendon and the contemporary pamphlets. Compare Baxter's Eel. Baxteriance, 42 ; Ludlow's Memoirs, 19. Wharton's letters of Sept. 26, 30 (Archeeol. xxxv. 324), are espe- cially interesting. It was the belief in the Parliamentary army that the man who induced Fiennes to move forward by reporting that Byron was going to leave was purposely employed to lead them into an ambush. Rupert's letter (Eushw. v. 24), seems, however, clearly to show that this was a mistake. The fight is described with much local knowledge in "Webb's Civil War in Herefordshire, i. 144. 2 Falkland to Cumberland, Sept. 27. E. 121, 122. 3 Letter of Falkland to Cumberland, Oct. 7. E. 121, 22. A. controversy sprang up as to the truth of the alleged confession of Sandys, the officer referred to. Whatever the truth may have been, the important fact is that Royalists should have thought it quite natural CONTINUED PLUNDERING. ^7 o The view taken in this letter was that which was chap. prevalent at Shrewsbury. When Charles returned « — ,- — - from Chester he found his whole camp full of confi- l6f2- dence. To a demand made by Essex that he would returns to listen to a petition from Parliament in which he was bury?* asked to return to Westminster, leaving to their s^-28- © And re- merited punishment the wicked persons bv whom he fu»esto * receive fi had been misled, he replied that he would receive petition, nothing at the hands of one who was a proclaimed traitor. If it had been in his power he would have taken the field at once ; but, in spite of Rupert's efforts, he was still ill-provided with arms. He had money Plundcrins ... •'on both enough to pay his infantry, but the horsemen had to sides. forage for themselves, or, in other words, to plunder those whom they suspected of opposition to the King.1 It was a saying among the soldiers, that all rich men were Roundheads.8 In spite of all that Essex could do, the Royalist gentry in the neighbour- hood of Worcester shared the fate of their opponents round Shrewsbury. Essex assured the Houses that he and his officers had done their best to restrain a these malpractices, but that he could not wonder at the misconduct of his men, ' seeing freedom of plunder was permitted on the other side.' 3 Whilst the main armies were confronting one Local another, a series of local struggles had been going on in different parts of England, and the result had, on the whole, been favourable to the Parliament. A that those who fought on the other side should feel themselves guilty, as soon as the truth was brought home to them by sickness. 1 " The horse have not been paid, but live upon the country." Spencer to Lady Spencer. Sidney Papers, ii. 667. This disposes of Clarendon's statement to the contrary. 2 A continuation of the late proceediiu/s. E. 121, 38 s D'Ewes's Diary. Hurl. MSS. 163,'fol. 412. 38 POWICK BRIDGE AND EDGEHILL. CHAP. II. N_ f mb I642. Hertford in Wales. Ilopton at Pendennis Castle. Oct. 2. The siege of Man- chester raised. Sept. 29. Pacifica- tion of Yorkshire. force detached by Essex had occupied Hereford. ■ Hertford had at last abandoned Sherborne Castle, and, crossing the Bristol Channel from Minehead, was doing his best to organise resistance to the Houses in South Wales. For the present, however, the King had no partisans in arms in the West except Sir Ealph Hopton, who, with a few of his friends, quitted Hertford at Minehead, made his way to Cornwall, and gained possession of Pendennis Castle.1 Hopton was a man of singular force of character, and of no despicable skill as a commander ; but, as yet, his possession of these qualities was unsuspected, and no apprehension was felt at Westminster in consequence of his occupation of a distant fortress. In the North, opinion was less in favour of Par- liament than in the South. Yet even there the towns were mostly on its side. Manchester, the London of the North, as from its noted Puritanism it was scorn- fully termed by the neighbouring cavaliers, had been for some time besieged by Lord Strange, who now became Earl of Derby upon his father's death. On October 2, the new Earl was compelled to abandon the hope of taking Manchester.2 In Yorkshire opinion was divided, and the gentry on either side agreed to hold their county neutral in the struggle which had already commenced elsewhere.3 Whether it be true or not that Lord Fairfax only agreed to the pacification on condition of its obtain- ing the sanction of Parliament,4 it was inevitable that 1 The latest remarkable, truths. E. 240, 23. 2 A true and exact relation of the siege of Manchester. E. 12 1, 45. 3 Fourteen articles of peace. E. 121,29. 4 The protest of Fairfax is mentioned by Rushworth (iv. 686). But unless we knew the authority on which this statement was based, it would be impossible to say what value is to be attached to it. Nothing of the kind is to be found in Fairfax's own letter, nor does D'Ewes allude to it in any way. FAIRFAX AND THE HOTHAMS. 39 the Houses would refuse their assent to an arrange- chap. 11 ment which would only serve to increase the forces « ,- — - of the King. If the Yorkshire gentry were freed from 42' danger at home, they would place their services at Charles's disposal elsewhere, whilst it was unlikely that the citizens of Leeds or Bradford would leave their looms to take service under Essex at Worcester. Even in Yorkshire the pacification was not every- where accepted. The Hothams were already disin- clined to acknowledge the supremacy of the Fairfaxes, and the fact that Lord Fairfax had agreed to suspend operations served as a spur to the younger Hotham to distinguish himself by a military exploit. On Oct. 4. October 4 he swooped down on Cawood Castle, which takes had been fortified by Archbishop Williams. Williams castle, fled in terror, making no attempt at a defence. A few days afterwards letters arrived from the Houses, setting aside the pacification, and Hotham was able The pad- to regard himself as the true interpreter of the wishes broken. of Parliament.1 In this way England was divided by an undu- Respective lating line, which left only the less wealthy and the the com- less thickly populated districts of the North and West to Charles. Yet it would be a mistake to estimate his strength solely by geographical con- siderations. Some of the counties, such as Worcester- shire and Herefordshire, were strongly Eoyalist in feeling, though they were for the present obliged to dissemble their sentiments. In many others the ma- jority of the gentry were either already gathered round Charles at Shrewsbury, or were ready to support him at home if a favourable opportunity occurred. A victory in the field might be followed 1 L.J. v. 385. Special Passuyes. E. 121, 31. A declaration of Capt. Hotham, E. 121, 32. butants. 40 POWIOK BRIDGE AND EDGEHILL, chap, by serious consequences. If the Eoyalist gentry - could, at any time, succeed in getting the upper hand, it would be difficult to overthrow them. They were accustomed to take the lead in county business, and the smaller towns would be too isolated to hold out long against them. If Parliament was to win, it must either gain a decisive victory at the opening of the campaign, or it must substitute a new and stronger organisation for that to which the country districts had long been accustomed. For the present the hopes of all men were fixed upon the main armies. One battle, it was generally believed, would decide everything. The Houses Now that it had become evident to all at West- buraingof minster that the difficulties of the task had been pamphlets, underrated, increasing anxiety was shown by Parlia- ment to give a legal colour to its undertaking. In spite of opposition from the plain-spoken Marten, the Commons ordered that pamphlets containing attacks upon the King's person should be publicly burnt.1 It was easier to do this than to carry on war against Their need the King without encroaching on the King's authority. of taxa- . o o J tion, For a time the demand for voluntary contributions had been liberally responded to, but that source of revenue was already nearly exhausted. Nothing short of regular taxation would supply the require- ments of the army, and from regular taxation the which Houses shrank. They continued to ask for volun- thev . arenot tary gifts or loans, but, like the benevolences de- to impose, manded by former kings, those voluntary payments were as like enforced taxation as possible. 0c--s- It was unlikely that such a course would remain Imprison- J meat of long unchallenged. A lawyer named Fountain refused fountain. ° ~ J to reply to a request for a voluntary gift, and appealed 1 D'Ewes's Diary. Harl. MSS. 163, fol. 417b. CHARLES AND THE CATHOLICS. 41 to the Petition of Eight. The Petition of Eight, said Marten bluntly, was intended to restrain kings, not to restrain Parliaments. Fountain was finally sent to prison for contempt in refusing to answer. A com- mittee was appointed to prepare a declaration, assert- ing that the Houses were legally entitled to require a contribution, and that those who refused payment were to be marked as malignants and disaffected persons.1 Charles was in even greater straits for money. He obtained 6,000/. by the sale of a peerage to Sir Eichard Newport, a wealthy Shropshire knight.2 Enthusiastic Eoyalists offered their stores of plate to be melted into coin, and no scruple was felt in com- pelling those who were not enthusiastic Eoyalists to make a similar sacrifice.3 Amongst those who were most forward in offering assistance were the Catholic gentry. Their loyalty was never to be doubted. Wherever the Parliament held sway they were liable to outrage and plunder, whilst from time to time they heard that one or other of the priests whom they reverenced had been butchered accord- ing to law. Before Charles left Chester, he called on the numerous Catholics of Lancashire to provide themselves with arms, and he now invited all the Catholics of his kingdom to assist him with their purses as well as wTith their swords.4 " This is to tell you," he had written to Newcastle, after his return to Shrewsbury, " that this rebellion is grown to that height, that I must not look of5 what opinion men are 1 C.J. ii. 804, 805. D'Ewes's Diary. JIarl. MSS. 164, fol. 146. 2 Clarendon, vi. 67. His son is the supposed writer of the Memoirs of a Cavalier. 3 Giustinian to the Doge. Venetian MSS. Oct. \\. 4 The King to Gerard and others, Sept. 27. liuslno. v. 50. Clarendon, vi. 65. B The word ' of is not in the original. CHAP. II. 1642. Sale of a peerage. The Catho- lics support Charl.-. 42 TOWICK BRIDGE AND EDGEHILL. chap, who at this time are willing and able to serve me. - *'- > Therefore I do not only permit but command you to l642' make use of all my loving subjects' services, without examining their consciences — more than their loyalty to me — as you shall find most to conduce to the up- holding of my just legal power." x No doubt he in this way obtained support which he could ill spare, but, in so doing, he raised a fresh barrier between himself and the hearts of his Protestant subjects. The j It was not the Queen's fault if plentiful supplies activity in had not flowed in from beyond the seas. No sooner had she arrived in Holland, than she threw herself with characteristic ardour into the task of raising money with which to purchase arms, and of inducing officers and soldiers of English birth to forsake the Dutch service for that of their native Prince. She had jewels to pawn,2 and she had in her favour the powerful assistance of the Prince of Orange ; but, on the other hand, the commercial oligarchy, which filled the Assembly of the States of Holland, was jealous of the Prince and of his Eoyal alliance. The populace, usually in favour of the House of Orange, was excited against his Catholic guest. The English Parliament sent over an able diplomatist, Walter Strickland, to plead its cause. Even after Henrietta Maria had succeeded in bearing down opposition in Holland, fresh disappointment was in store for her. A vessel which she contrived to despatch was driven Oct. 4. by stress of weather into Yarmouth, where it was seized by order of Parliament. Two ships of war, the sole remains of the Eoyal Navy, which were in- tended to escort across the North Sea a little fleet 1 The King to Newcastle, Sept. 23. Ellis, Ser. I. iii. 291. 2 These were not identical with the magnificent service of plate on which Buckingham had attempted to raise money. THE QUEEN'S ACTIVITY. 43 laden with munitions of war, were surrendered to chap. 11. Parliament by their own sailors. The States of — r- — • Holland put an embargo on the transport of warlike stores to the King. Though the Queen succeeded in sending 200 men over in small boats, she was unable to despatch the arms which were so much needed at Shrewsbury. She had at one time hoped to be able soon to rejoin her husband in England. She now lamented that she could do but little for him, and talked of seeking a refuge in France till his fate had been decided in the field.1 Ill equipped as the Eoyal army was, it was T°ecg?fg at last able to move. On October 12 Charles set j£v« Shrews- out from Shrewsbury on the march which, as he buiy. fondly hoped, would conduct him back to Whitehall. Amongst his adversaries at Westminster there was no flinching. On the 15th a Bill, which had already 5°^*, passed the Commons, for calling that Assembly of A/sI(;,.,1,ll.v ■T o J of Divines. Divines which was expected to remodel the Church in a manner which could not fail to give offence to Charles, was read for the first time in the House of Lords, and was hurried on to a third reading only four days 0ct- 19- later. The Lords then proceeded to give their assent to several resolutions of the Lower House. All who A^st'of refused to contribute to the charge of the Common- Persons- wealth were to be imprisoned and disarmed. The revenues of bishops, deans, and chapters, and of all Sequeatra- notorious delinquents who had taken up arms for the estates King, were to be sequestered for the use of the Com- King's monwealth ; and though Charles's own revenue was still to be paid into the proper offices of receipt, it was 1 A true and perfect relation. E. 121,21. A continuation of certain special passages. E. 121, 9. Zon to the Doge, Sept. /,, §f, -,'icrrF- Venetian M8S. Rossetti to Barberini, Sept. |1, |§. It.O. Transcripts. The Queen to the King, -~^f- Letters of Henrietta Maria, 124, 129. revenue. 44 POWICK BRIDGE AND EDGEHILL. CHAP. II. *— — , 1642. The trained bands called out. Measures for the defence of London. Oct. 16. Oct. 17. The City Royalists hopeful. not to be disbursed without the formal authorisation of Parliament. Such measures required a strong force to back them. Orders were accordingly given to call out the trained bands of the counties through which the King's army was likely to pass. Yet it was felt to be not impossible that, in spite of all resistance, Charles might reach London, and it was certain that if he occupied London he would be master of the kingdom. London, long unused to war, was an un- fortified city, and there was no time now to fortify it. All that could be done was to stretch chains across the streets, in order to throw difficulties in the way of a charge of cavalry.1 London's strength lay in the vigour of its citizens. On the 16th the captains of the trained bands of the City renewed, in the name of the 8,000 men whom they commanded, their reso- lution to live and die with the Parliament, and the great majority of the men declared themselves ready to follow their leaders in the service of the City even beyond the City precincts.2 The Eoyalists of the City, on the other hand, were growing every day more confident that they would soon see Charles enter London in triumph. They formed a not insig- nificant minority, having amongst them many of the wealthy merchants. They openly wore red ribbons in their hats as a token of their opinions, and they were strong enough to drive out a mob which broke into St. Paul's to pull down the organ.3 Not only from Charles's army was danger appre- hended at Westminster. It was now known that the 1 L.J. v. 402, 406. 2 England's memorable accidents. E. 240, 45. Certain propositions. E. 123,24. 3 Giustinian to the Doge, Oct. \\. Venetian MSS. FOREIGN AID ASKED. 45 greater part of Cornwall had declared for the King, chap. and that the Earl of Newcastle had collected a force » — A — - of 8,000 men in the North. The belief that Charles l642- t 1 p n i v Oct. 18. was merely the instrument 01 a vast Catholic con- Dangers spiracy gained fresh strength from the admission, in waiian.i pursuance of the King's orders, of Catholic officers and soldiers to that which was now ordinarily spoken of as the Northern Papist Army. No wonder that, in presence, of the irritation thus caused, those who sighed for peace were in despair. " No neutrality," Neutrality o ■ J. i_ ^ J impossible. wrote Eoe, who had lately retired from his embassy, " is admitted. . . . Both parties resolve that those who are not with them are against them. London prepares for defence in all events, and the voluntary contributions daily increase, and all who will not are as corn between two millstones." x On the 20th a fresh danger was discovered. It The King was known in London that Charles was once more Denmark looking to foreign powers for aid. Two Scots — Henderson and Cochrane — had been commissioned to visit the King of Denmark, to urge him to send arms for 1 2,000 men, 24 cannon, 100,000/., a fleet of ships of war, 3,000 German infantry, and 1,000 horse.2 At the same time it was known that Charles had and refuses to receive IT Warwickshire.1 • A — - No position could have been better chosen if I 42 . . Oct. 23. Charles intended to await the attack of the enemy. Chariesat t- Edgehill. Yet there were no signs that Essex would attempt such a foolhardy enterprise as to scale the heights as long as they were guarded by an army more numerous than his own. He had but 10,000 men to dispose of, and there were at least 14,000 under the command of Charles. He had been obliged to leave garrisons in Worcester and elsewhere, whilst Hampden with two regiments, in charge of the greater part of the artillery, was a day's march in the rear. When Essex drew up his troops at some little distance from the foot of the hill, the Eoyal army had no choice but to descend. It was in the midst of a hostile population, and with Banbury fortified in its rear and the Parliamentary army in front, it would hardly escape starvation. Whether these considerations presented themselves confidence to Charles is more than doubtful. In his camp Royalists, victory was regarded as a certainty. It was fully believed that Essex had but a turbulent mob under his orders, and that most of his soldiers and many of his officers would refuse to fight against the King now that they knew that he had taken the field in person.2 Full of spirit as the Eoyalists were, they had to Rupert** contend against one fatal disadvantage. Charles had fhc^rmy? himself undertaken the direction of the campaign. Eupert was almost the Buckingham of the hour, 1 The King to Rupert, Oct. 23. AVarburton's Memoirs of Rupert, ii. 12. * Clarendon, vi. 77. (iiustinian to the Doge, Oct. §'. Venetian MSS, I. E ;o POWICK BRIDGE AND EDGEHILL. CH \r. II. 1642. Lindsey's career. Forth ap- pointed to command. carrying his irresolute uncle with him by his fire and energy. The young Prince had not been many days in England before he took offence at some expressions used by Digby,1 and, by refusing to re- ceive instructions from Charles through a secretary, had drawn down on himself a well-merited reproof from Falkland. " In neglecting me," said Falkland, " you neglect the King." Worst of all was the disastrous arrangement by which Eupert was ex- empted from taking the orders of Lord Lindsey, the General of the army, whose tried fidelity was beyond dispute. His career in Charles's service had been one of patient submission to conditions which could only result in failure. He had commanded the fleet which, in 1626, was baffled by storms in the Bay of Biscay, the fleet which, in 1628, had attempted in vain, after Buckingham's death, to carry succour to Eochelle, and the fleet which, in 1635, having been fitted out with the proceeds of the first levy of ship-money, sailed up and down the Channel exposed to universal mockery. Such a man was not likely to take umbrage readily. Yet even Lindsey shrank from the task of commanding an army in which he was to have no control over the cavalry, and he assured his friends that he could not regard himself as its general, and that when the day of battle arrived he would place himself at the head of his own regiment, and there would find his death. Charles accepted Lindsey's reluctance to bear the name without the authority of a commander, and directed that his place should be filled on the day of battle by the old Scotchman who had defended Edinburgh Castle, and who had recently exchanged the title of Lord Ruthven for that of Earl of Forth. 1 Digby to Rupert, Sept. 10, Warburtun, i. 368. THE KING DESCENDS EDGEH1LL. He would not give to the new commander the chap. • ii authority which he had dashed out of Lindsey's < ^ — - hands.1 l 42" The whole of the forenoon was taken up in col- Descent of /~