escape by night between the two armies, and to get to Worcester by forced marches. Essex then turned to the west, leaving Waller to pursue the king. At Copredy bridge, near Banbury, Charles, who had led Waller a strange dance, who had got some reinforcements, and who had arrested a number of country magistrates for having expressed too much kindness to the parliament, turned upon his pursuer, and gained some advantage over him. The affair was a trifle, but Charles was enabled to move towards the west, and join his nephew, Prince Maurice. Some advised him to try London once more.

Fourteen thousand men had been placed by parliament under the command of the Earl of Manchester and his lieutenant-general, Oliver Cromwell, who was rising rapidly in the service, but who for some time set a very laudable and rarely-followed example of subordination to his superior. This division, which was regarded with pride and hope by at least all the Independents, was sent northward to co-operate with Lord Fairfax and Leslie in the siege of York. The two commanders were accompanied by the sagacious Sir Henry Vane, who was then alike the bosom friend of Manchester and of Cromwell. When

this force arrived, York was completely invested. Newcastle drew off his army towards the west, and Prince Rupert, resolute to raise the siege, advanced from Cheshire and Lancashire in great force, and joined Newcastle. The united royalist army in the north thus amounted to upwards of twenty thousand men, the cavalry being numerous and well appointed. The parliamentarian generals and the Scots raised their siege in presence of such a force, and, on the last day of June, placed themselves in battle array on Marston Moor, on the banks of the Ouse, about five miles to the southwest of the city. Rupert threw troops and provisions into York, and then proposed giving a general battle. Newcastle was of a different opinion, and the two royalists, as they had often done before, came to a violent altercation. In the end, the English nobleman told the proud German, that, if he would fight, it would be upon his own responsibility. Some of his friends advised the earl not to appear in the battle since the command was thus taken from him; but Newcastle replied, that, happen what would, he would not shun the fight, having no other ambition than to live and die true to his king. The parliamentarians evi"If Prince Rupert, who had acquired honour enough by the

dently did not expect to be brought to action-for, after staying a day on Marston Moor, they, early on the morning of the 2nd of July, began to march off their foot and artillery and their Scottish allies towards Tadcaster; and they were in the disorder of this movement when old Leslie, in the van, received news that Rupert had fallen upon the rear that was still on the Moor. The trumpet sounded a halt along the whole line of march, and the Scots, the English foot, and the artillery turned about, endeavouring to get the best ground on the Moor, and prevent Rupert from outflanking them. A large rye-field on a rising ground was fiercely contested, but the parliamentarians kept it, and secured the additional advantage of a broad drain for ditch, which covered part of their front from cavalry or foot charges. In spite of their efforts, however, the royalists outflanked them somewhat; but Leslie attempted to remedy this defect, by posting some Scottish dragoons on the left flank. It was three o'clock in the afternoon before these preludes were finished. Then the prince gave his word, "God and the king," and the other party gave theirs, "God with us;" after which they shot at one or another with their great guns, but not very fiercely or effectually. This lasted till about five o'clock, when there was a general silence through both armies, each expecting which would begin the charge. In this posture they continued a considerable time, so that it was believed there would be no action that night; but, about seven o'clock in the evening, the parliament's generals resolved to fall on, and, a signal being given, the Earl of Manchester's foot and some of the Scots ran to the ditch or drain in their front, made their way over it, and made a smart charge. This attack of infantry led to two grand charges of cavalry. The left wing of the royalists charging the right wing of the parliamentarians, where Scots were mixed with English, almost totally routed them, and drove the three generals, the Lord Fairfax, the Earl of Manchester, and old Leslie, in the direction of Tadcaster and Cawood Castle. But, at the same time, the left wing of the parliamentarians, where Cromwell charged with his excellent horse-his " Ironsides"-w completely successful. "The horse," says Ludlow," on both sides behaved themselves with the utmost bravery; for, having discharged their pistols, and flung them at each other's heads, they fell to it with their swords. The king's party were encouraged in this encounter by seeing the success of their left wing; and the parliament's forces that remained in the field were not discouraged, because they knew it not-both sides eagerly contending for victory; which, after an obstinate dispute, was obtained by Cromwell's brigade, the enemy's right wing being totally routed and flying,

-was

relief of York in the view of three generals, could have contented himself with it, and retreated, as he might have done, without fighting, the reputation he had gained would have caused his army to increase like the rolling of a snowball; but he, thinking this nothing unless he might have all, forced his enemies to a battle against the advice of many of those that were with him."-Ludlow.

as the parliament's had done before, our horse pursuing and killing many of them in their flight." As each victorious wing wheeled round upon its own centre, right and left, they clashed against each other, each fondly fancying that the business was over, "both sides being not a little surprised to see they must fight it over again for that victory which each thought they had already gained." The encounter was dreadful, and for a time Cromwell, who was wounded, was in great danger. But he was presently backed by some reserves of horse and foot, and Manchester had begun to rally part of the broken wing. "The face of the battle was exactly counter-changed; for now the king's forces stood nearly on the same ground, and with the same front that the parliament's right wing before stood in to receive their charge; and the parliament's forces stood on the same ground, and with the same front, as the king's did when the fight began. At ten o'clock at night the victory was decided by charges of the reserves of Oliver Cromwell's brigade, backed by General David Leslie. Rupert fled headlong with his broken and disordered cavalry, his infantry threw down their arms to run the faster, all his artillery, ammunition, and baggage fell into the hands of the parliamentarians, who, moreover, took about one hundred colours and standardsthe prince's own standard, with the arms of the Palatinate, being among them. The victors followed with great slaughter to within a mile of York, and then slept on the ground on Marston Moor. On the following morning the Marquess of Newcastle resolved to forsake the kingdom, and, taking short leave of the prince, he escaped from York to Scarborough, where he embarked for the continent, coming no more back to England till the Restoration.

On the morrow, Prince Rupert drew off from York a few troops of horse, and gallopped to Boroughbridge, where he was joined by Colonel Clavering, who proposed a marauding expedition into Cheshire and Lancashire. On the morning of the 4th of July the parliament men again sat down before York, and summoned the garrison to surrender at discretion. The royalist officers refused to yield upon such terms: the beleaguerers pressed their siege, only resting upon Sunday the 7th of July, and giving a public thanksgiving for their late success at Marston Moor. By the 11th of July they had made their approaches almost up to the very walls, and prepared their ladders and all things requisite for storming: but then Glenham, the royalist governor, begged to treat, and the prayer was seconded by many of the chief inhabitants of the city of York. Articles of surrender were agreed upon on the 15th, and on the 16th the parliamentarians marched into York, and the royalists marched out of it with colours flying and drums beating. The three chief generals, Fairfax, Manchester, and Leslie or Leven, proceeded directly to the glorious minster, where a psalm was sung and thanks returned to God by a presbyterian

preacher, Mr. Robert Douglas, the Earl of Leven's chaplain.*

The battle of Marston Moor gave parliament the command of the entire north, where the Scots soon stormed the town of Newcastle. But, in the West, Essex was getting into a position which eventually led to humiliating defeat. The lord general, after the frustrated attempt upon the king at York, had marched through the western counties with the confident hope of reducing them all. The queen who had just got up from her confinement in the city of Exeter, asked him for a safe conduct to Bath or Bristol, that she might drink the waters and recover her health. Essex offered her a safe-conduct to London, where she might have the advice of the best physicians; she preferred making her way to Falmouth and sailing back to France, which she did upon Sunday the 14th of July." The Earl of Warwick had ordered several ships to attend at Torbay to intercept and hinder her passage; yet her majesty, with a Flemish man-of-war, and ten other ships, adventured out, and by the advantage of the wind avoided any annoyance from the parliament fleet, who yet pursued with all the sail they could make, and one frigate came up and discharged several shots at them; but her majesty's ships, coming out fresh tallowed and trained for so important a service, had the advantage of them in sailing; and to prevent the worst, there was provided a galley with sixteen oars, which might have carried off her majesty if they could have come up; but without needing to make use thereof, her majesty landed safely at Brest in France, and resided in that her native kingdom from henceforth, till after the restoration of the royal family.+" The lord general Essex meanwhile kept advancing into the West, ignorant of the storm that was gathering in his rear, and apparently blind to the fact, that the farther west he went the more he found the people disposed to royalty. Blake, who was afterwards to distinguish himself in a larger theatre and on a different element, was besieged by Prince Maurice in the unimportant town of Lyme Regis, which he made tenable, and put in fighting order like a ship. Maurice raised the siege on the approach of Essex, who within three weeks occupied Taunton, Tiverton, Weymouth, and Bridport. But the king who had given Waller the slip at Copredy bridge, and who had reinforced his army with a wonderful accession of enthusiastic royalists, was now in full march after him, and driving him into a corner, the narrow extremity of Cornwall, where the fierce natives, except in the sea-ports and trading towns, were exceedingly hostile to the parliament. Prince Maurice also joined his forces to the king's, and a strong hope was entertained of destroying the whole of the parliamentarian army in the West. Charles at this crisis sent tempting offers to Essex, but that nobleman would not listen

But

to them, but referred his majesty to the two Houses sitting at Westminster. His honesty was therefore more conspicuous than his ability in this campaign. Waller, after the affair at Copredy bridge, ought to have followed westward, but he remained almost inactive, only sending Middleton with about two thousand horse after the king, but Middleton kept at such a distance from him that he never afforded Essex much help. If the earl had given the king battle on his first making his appearance, and before he was joined by the bands of west-country royalists, his chance would have been a good one; but he, on his side, expected to be joined by Middleton, perhaps by Waller, and so lay doing nothing, and allowing his men to be cooped up between Liskeard and the sea. Then Sir Richard Grenville came up with a wild force of Cornwall levies, and cut off some of the parliamentarian foraging parties. Captain Edward Brett arrived with the queen's body guard, which she had left behind her when embarking for France, and Sir Jacob Astley manoeuvred round Essex "with a good party of horse and foot." Other corps gathered at other points, and all supplies of forage and provisions were soon cut off. the sea as yet was open, and the Earl of Warwick, who attended the motions of the army, was on the coast. "It was therefore now resolved to make Essex's quarters yet straiter, and to cut off even his provisions by sea, or a good part thereof." The little town of Foy, or Fowey, which covered and commanded a convenient harbour, was in Essex's possession-" and it was exceedingly wondered at by all men, that he being so long possessed of Foy, did not put strong guards into that place, by which he might have prevented his army's being brought into those extreme necessities." Sir Richard Grenville possessed himself of Lanbetherick, a strong house belonging to the Lord Roberts, and lying between Essex's camp and the little harbour, and Sir Jacob Astley made himself master of View-hall, which belonged to the Lord Mohun, and which was opposite to Foy. Jacob put two captains, two hundred soldiers, and two great guns into View-hall, which in a short time rendered the town and position of Foy almost useless to Essex, and prevented the passage of provisions from the sea-bord. "Now the king had leisure to sit still, and warily to expect what invention or stratagem the earl would make use of to make some attempt upon his army, or to make his own escape. In this posture both armies lay still without any notable action for the space of eight or ten days: when the king, seeing no better fruit from all that was hitherto done, resolved to draw his whole army together, and to make his own quarters yet much nearer, and either to force Esser to fight or to be uneasy even in his quarters. And it was high time to do so: for it was now certain, that either Waller himself, or some other forces, were already upon their march towards the West."* Charles therefore drew closer the toils

Clarendon, Hist.

Sir

in which he held the army of Essex; he drove them from a rising ground called Beacon-hill, and immediately caused a square work to be there raised, and a battery made which shot into their quarters with a plunging fire, and did great hurt. And then Goring was sent with the greatest part of the royal horse, and fifteen hundred foot, a little westward to St. Blaze, to drive the enemy yet closer together, and to cut off the provisions they received in that direction. The dashing, daring Goring, the bloodiest hand that waved a sword in these civil wars, executed the commission with entire success; and the parliamentarians were reduced to that small strip of land that lies between the river of Foy, or Fowey, and that of St. Blaze, which was not above two miles in breadth, and little more in length, and which had already been eaten bare by the cavalry. On the 25th of August, the royalists made an attempt, which very nearly proved successful, at blowing up Essex's powder magazine by treachery.* On the 27th, the lord general informed parliament that several skirmishes had lately taken place between him and the royalists, wherein generally his forces had the better; but at the same time he earnestly pressed for provisions and some fresh forces, concluding his letter with these words:-"If succour come not speedily, we shall be put to great extremity. If we were in a country where we could force the enemy to fight, it would be some comfort; but this country consists so much upon passes, that he who can subsist longest must have the better of it, which is a great grief to me, who have the command of so many gallant men." At length, the state of the army being desperate, and famine staring them in the face, it was determined that Sir William Balfour should try and break through the king's lines with all the horse, and that then Essex should endeavour to embark the foot at Fowey, and escape by sea. A Frenchman, who deserted from the parliamentarians, went over by night and acquainted the king with these two desperate plans. Instantly, an order was given that both royal armies should stand to their arms all that night (the night between the 30th and 31st of August), and that if Essex's cavalry should attempt an escape they were to be fallen upon from both quarters, the passage between them through which the parliamentarians must go being but musket-shot over, and having in the midst a house well fortified and supplied with musketeers. Warning was sent to Goring and all the royal horse; and

"The Earl of Essex sent a letter to the parliament, acquainting them with the plot lately discovered, to blow up his magazine: for which purpose, into two waggons filed with barrels of powder there were two engines privately conveyed, and put amongst the barrels, and were so near doing execution, that the lighted match that was fastened to the end of one of the engines was burnt within an inch of the wild-fire when it was discovered, and the other match was burnt to the very neck of the engine where it was to give fire; but it happened not to take, and so the coal was gone out of itself; one of which engines he sent up (and it was showed in the House of Commons.)-RUSHWORTH.

+ Id.

The army under Prince Maurice, according to Clarendon, was looked upon as distinct, and always so quartered.

further orders were given or renewed for the breaking down the bridges, and cutting down the trees to obstruct the passage. "The effect of all this providence," says Clarendon, "was not such as was reasonably to be expected. The night grew dark and misty, as the enemy could wish; and about three in the morning, the whole body of the horse passed with great silence between the armies, and within pistol-shot of the cottage, without so much as one musket discharged at them. At the break of day, the horse were discovered marching over the heath, beyond the reach of the foot; and there was only at hand the Earl of Cleveland's brigade, the body of the king's horse being at a greater distance. That brigade, to which some other troops which had taken the alarm joined, followed them in the rear; and killed some, and took more prisoners: but stronger parties of the enemy frequently turning upon them, and the whole body often making a stand, they were often compelled to retire; yet followed in that manner, that they killed and took about a hundred, which was the greatest damage they sustained in their whole march. The notice and orders came to Goring, when he was in one of his jovial exercises; which he received with mirth, and slighting those who sent them, as men who took alarms too warmly; and he continued his delights till all the enemy's horse were passed through his quarters; nor did then pursue them in any time. So that, excepting such who, by the tiring of their horses, became prisoners, Balfour continued his march even to London, with less loss or trouble than can be imagined, to the infinite reproach of the king's army, and of all his garrisons in the way. Nor was any man called in question for this supine neglect it being not thought fit to make severe inquisition into the behaviour of the rest, when it was so notoriously known how the superior officer had failed in his duty." Having stayed to see the full success of Sir William Balfour's movement, which saved the most valuable part of the army, Essex fought his way to the shore near the mouth of the Fowey, and there, with his friend the Lord Roberts and with many of his officers, he embarked on board a ship which Warwick had sent round, and sailed away to Plymouth on the 1st of September, leaving his foot, cannon, and ammunition to the care of the gallant and faithful Skippon, who had nothing left for it but to make the best capitulation he could. The staying of Essex would only have rendered the treaty more disadvantageous to the parliamentary cause. Before laying down. arms, however, Skippon called a council of war, and proposed to the officers a desperate attempt. "You see," said Skippon, our general and some chief officers have thought fit to leave us, and our horse are got away; we are left alone upon our defence that which I propound to you is this, that we, having the same courage as our horse had, and the same God to assist us, may make the same trial of our fortunes, and endeavour to make our way through our enemies as they have done,

66

and account it better to die with honour and faithfulness than to live dishonourable." But few of the officers went with him in this resolution, alleging that the horse had many advantages which the foot had not; and the king had offered good terms of surrender. On the evening of the 2nd of September the common men laid down their arms (the officers retaining their swords), delivered up their cannon and ammunition, and were conducted towards the posts of their army at Poole and Portsmouth. They had been promised the safe possession of whatever money and goods belonged to them; but before they were quit of the royalist escorts they were stripped even of their clothes.*

Essex wrote from Plymouth on the 3rd of September to his friend Sir Philip Stapleton, deploring what had passed, and "how his poor army had been neglected and overpressed by so great powers." Never," said he, were so many gallant and faithful men so long exposed without succour!" If we are to believe certain respectable authorities, Vane, St. John, Ireton, Cromwell, and the other leaders of the Independents, anxious to see the disgrace and ruin of Essex, purposely prevented the marching of reinforcements, or the making of a diversion; but it may have been, nevertheless, the feeling of parliament, and of those who directed the war, that the cavalry marching under Middleton would be succour enough-and so in all probability it would have proved, if that officer had avoided skirmishes by the way, and gone straight to Bodmin. On the other side there are authorities of equal weight that lay the entire blame upon Essex and upon the Lord Roberts, who, it is affirmed, for selfish motives, tempted the lord-general into Cornwall. One thing seems certain-that, as Roger Coke remarks, the ill success of Essex in this expedition was the cause of Essex's fall, and of the rise of Cromwell. At first, however, the disposition of the parliament did not seem to portend this issue. Indeed, for the present, the two Houses made a rare show of magnanimity and of respect for the unfortunate general. In their letter of the 7th of September they told Essex that they had received his letters from Plymouth; that, as they understood "the misfortune of that accident, and submitted to God's pleasure therein, so their good affections to his lordship, and their opinion of his fidelity and merit in the public service, were not at all lessened." "And," continued the Lords and Commons, whose votes were certainly not directed by that vulgar class of minds that become cowardly, and cruel, and insolent at all such unfortunate crises, "they are resolved not to be wanting in their best endeavours for repairing of this loss, and drawing together such a strength under their command as may, with the blessing of God, restore our affairs to

Clarendon.-Rushworth.-Ludlow.-The last writer says, "The parliament soon caused them to be armed and clothed again; and, the horse having forced their way as before mentioned, the army was speedily recruited, scarce a man having taken arms on the other side."

a better condition than they are now in: to which purpose they have written to the Earl of Manchester to march with all possible speed towards Dorchester, in Dorsetshire, with all the forces he can of horse and foot. Sir William Waller is likewise ordered to march speedily into Dorchester, with all his horse and foot. The Houses have appointed six thousand foot arms, and five hundred pair of pistols, and six thousand suits of clothes, shirts, &c., to meet your lordship at Portsmouth, for the arming and encouragement of your forces."

If Charles had remained in Cornwall he would soon have been cooped up in his turn. He preferred marching off in great triumph into Devonshire, and, after resting a short time in that plentiful country, he pushed forward for Oxford, in the hope of recovering his old quarters without a battle. But in the mean time the forces of Essex, Manchester, Waller, and Cromwell were concentrated near Newbury; and, on reaching that spot where he had been so fatally engaged the preceding year, the king, who got possession of the town, and who had many other advantages, found himself obliged to consent to a general action. On this occasion no great honour was gained by any of the parliament generals, except Oliver Cromwell. Essex was ill, or pretended to be so, and, keeping out of the action, he left the command to fall to the Earl of Manchester, who had with him Cromwell as general of his cavalry. Some sharp skirmishing began on the afternoon of the 26th of October, the parliamentarians endeavouring to drive the enemy from the town. Night set in, and the weather was very cold: the parliamentarians slept on the field, the royalists in the town, and in good strong houses round about. On the morrow morning (it was a Sabbath morn) Manchester renewed the attack far more vigorously, his men going on to the charge" singing of psalms," as was usual with them. On their left the parliamentarians were completely successful, but on their right the royalists nearly balanced their advantages. The affairs were prolonged till night, when the king, fearing that before the next morning he might be compassed round, threw his artillery into Donnington Castle, and stole away towards Oxford. As soon as his evasion was known, Cromwell proposed following him up with the whole of the horse; but this was opposed by the Earl of Manchester. "The next morning," says Ludlow, "we drew together, and followed the enemy with our horse, which was the greatest body that I saw together during the whole course of the war, amounting to at least 7000 horse and dragoons; but they had got so much ground of us, that we could never recover sight of them, and did not expect to see them any more in a body that year: neither had we, as I suppose, if encouragement had not been given them privately by some of our own party." The fact to which Ludlow alludes, and which indeed seems to justify suspicion, is this:-twelve days after this indecisive second battle of Newbury, the king was