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blockade and escape towards Worcester. Thereupon the siege was raised, Essex, in opposition to the parliament, proceeding into the West, and Waller, as settled by a council of war, to follow the king. But Charles, as soon as he knew of the separation of the two armies, retraced his steps and entered Oxford seventeen days after he had quitted it. Putting himself at the head of his forces, he set out to seek Waller. That general, who had hastened from Worcestershire to put himself between the king and the capital, received battle at Cropredy-bridge, near Banbury, and suffered a defeat. Charles now moved on to the West to join Maurice, and the parliamentary general, having lost half his army, was called off from the pursuit.

3. The Royalists defeated at Marston Moor, July 2, 1644. The Scotch army, according to agreement, crossed the Tweed in Jauuary, and after a fruitless siege of Newcastle for three weeks, crossed the river and took possession of Sunderland, where for five weeks they were shut up by Newcastle's forces. But on the return of the younger Fairfax from Cheshire, he and his father, Lord Fairfax, met with some successes, which alarmed Newcastle and led him to retire to York. The Scots followed, and being joined by Fairfax, sat down before that city. A third army of fourteen thousand men, under Manchester and his lieutenant-general Cromwell, arrived, and the capital of the North was completely invested. Rupert, during the spring, had been employed in Cheshire and Lancashire, where he had taken Stockport, Bolton, and Liverpool, and had raised the siege of Latham House. Charles fully apprehending the danger to his cause in the North, sent orders to his nephew to collect all his force and hasten into Yorkshire, with the two-fold object of relieving the city and defeating the combined army.

On Rupert's arrival, the royal force amounted to twenty thousand, the cavalry of which was numerous and well-appointed. The parliamentary army found it necessary to abandon their works, and withdraw to Marston Moor, about five miles from the city, and on the day of battle were actually sending off a part of their force to Tadcaster, when it was discovered that Rupert contemplated an action. From three to five in the afternoon, an ineffective cannonade took place, which was followed by a general silence for two hours. Rupert told Newcastle, he did not intend to give battle till the next day, but the parliamentary generals had otherwise determined. At seven, Manchester's foot and a part of the Scots, threw themselves across the ditch that separated the combatants. This led to two grand charges of cavalry. The left wing of each force beat its opponent; the right wing of the parliamentarians was routed, and the generals Fairfax, Manchester,

and Leven, driven off in the direction of Tadcaster and Cawood ; the right wing of the royalists was routed and driven off the field by Cromwell and his "Ironsides", as they were called from this time. Each victorious wing wheeled round, and found to its surprise that the battle was yet to win. Cromwell, by the flight of the generals, was now in chief command, and a desperate struggle ensued; but Manchester rallied his men, and brought them forward to back his lieutenant. At ten, Cromwell brought forward his reserves, and Rupert was put to flight; his infantry threw down their arms, and all his artillery, military stores, and baggage, remained with the parliamentarians, together with one hundred colors and standards, and sixteen hundred prisoners. About four thousand were buried on the field. Rupert and Newcastle reached York at midnight; next day the latter went to Scarborough, to embark for the continent, and Rupert, with a few troops of horse, withdrew to Boroughbridge. The result of this battle was the fall of York, which capitulated in a fortnight, and the extinction of the power of the royalists in the northern counties.

4. Essex's Infantry capitulate at Lostwithiel, Sept. 2, 1644. Essex, when he broke up from the siege of Oxford, proceeded to the West, and having relieved Lyme, he took Weymouth, Barnstaple, Tiverton, and Taunton. In utter disregard of the royalists gathering in his rear, the Earl pursued his march into Cornwall, a step which led some to say that he was betraying his forces to revenge himself on the parliament. His honesty was however proved while at Lostwithiel, by his refusal of tempting offers made to him by the king. Instead of breaking up the royalist associations in Cornwall, Essex found himself enclosed between the sea and the combined forces of the king, Prince Maurice, and Sir R. Grenville. Informing the parliament of his critical situation, he besought the House to cause a diversion to be made, that he might have an opportunity to escape, but nothing was done. Foy, which commanded the harbour, was rendered useless by the royalists occupying the opposite side, thereby closing the harbour through which alone the parliamentary forces obtained provisions. In this extremity the Earl ordered Balfour, in command of the cavalry, to force his way by night through the royalist position. This he accomplished with little loss. Essex was to draw off his infantry by way of Foy, but he embarked with only a few of his officers for Plymouth. Skippon was now in command. A council of war decided on capitulation. Charles offered them better terms than could have been expected; requiring only the surrender of their artillery, ammunition, and arms; all the officers and men were to be free, and passed under escort to the next parliamentary post. Notwithstanding this misfortune, the par

liament treated the general with much consideration, promising to repair his loss, and assuring him of their good opinion of his fidelity and merit in the public service. The promise was kept; when the men reached Portsmouth, the commissioners were already there with a supply of money and necessaries, and the army of Essex proved to have sustained but little diminution in numbers. 5. Successes of Montrose in Scotland. Sept. 1644. Under authority of a royal commission the Earl of Antrim, having raised about a thousand men in Ulster, sent them over to Scotland commanded by Macdonald his kinsman. Montrose, who after the battle of Marston Moor, had reached Scotland in disguise, assumed as the king's lieutenant the command of the Irish auxiliaries, at the same time calling on the neighbouring Atholmen to join the king's standard. In prospect of plunder, an army was soon collected, nor was Montrose long in leading them to battle. On the 18th of September, he defeated Lord Elcho at Tippermuir, a victory which gave the royal confederates the city of Perth, with a plentiful supply of military stores and provisions. Aberdeen fell into their hands on the 12th September, and endured a sack of three days, during which the sufferings of the inhabitants were uncommonly severe. Sir Walter Scott says, "the cruelty of the Irish in particular was so great, that they compelled the wretched citizens to strip themselves of their clothes before they killed them, to prevent them being soiled with blood". On the fourth day, these barbarians were under the necessity of retiring before the approach of a superior force under Argyle.

6. The second battle of Newbury. Oct. 27, 1644. Charles after his successes in the West set out for Oxford. While on the road, he was informed of the successes of Montrose in Scotland. Elated with the news, the king issued a proclamation dated Chard September 30, inviting all his subjects to arm and march with him to compel the parliament to accept peace. But the parliamentary armies of Essex, Waller, and Manchester were already united, so that when Charles was about to enter Newbury, they were moving on Reading, and shortly after drew on towards the king. Essex did not join the army having reported himself sick, the command therefore fell to Manchester. On the 27th, a double attack was made on the royalist positions at Show and Speen. The action was long and desperate, made more so by Essex's soldiers seeing in the royal batteries, the cannon they had recently lost in Cornwall; and which they succeeded in bringing back to their own lines. When night came, Charles secured his artillery in Donnington castle, and retreated himself towards Oxford. Cromwell would have followed with

the cavalry, but Manchester would not allow him to do so. Twelve days after the battle, Charles was unaccountably permitted, in face of the parliamentary army, to carry off his guns and ammunition from Donnington, a fact which was subsequently urged in justification of the suspicions entertained of the parliamentary generals.

SECTION XIX. PROCEEDINGS OF THE LONG

PARLIAMENT. 1645.

1. Negotiations at Uxbridge. Jan. 30-Feb. 22, 1645. Towards the end of 1644, the Scots, who exercised much influence over the English parliament, had recommended a new effort to secure a peace. Preliminaries were therefore opened with the king desiring him to appoint commissioners to treat. After some

difficulty the king consented to try the experiment once more. The commissioners from the parliament were instructed to adhere to the substance of the propositions already voted; to insist that the subjects of religion, the militia, and Ireland, should be successively debated each during three days; and if no agreement were come to in twenty days, to terminate the negotiation. Their principal demands were the abolition of Episcopacy, and the substitution of the Directory for the Common Prayer; the command of the army and navy by commissioners appointed by the two Houses; and the immediate renewal of hostilities in Ireland. On the part of the king's commissioners it was replied, that the king would consent to limit the jurisdiction of the bishops, but could not consent to the proposed change of religious worship; that he could not with honor break the Irish treaty; and that he would consent to divide the command of the military force of the kingdom with the parliament, for three or even for seven years, on condition that at the end of that period, it should revert to the crown. The twenty days expired before anything was concluded, and the negotiation ended without result.

2. The second Self-denying Ordinance. April 3, 1645. Although the Lords had rejected the first ordinance, the Commons went on with the reorganisation of the army after the new model. They even nominated Sir Thomas Fairfax as general-inchief in lieu of Essex, and Skippon to be the second in command. An ordinance embodying these changes was passed by the Lords, after some alterations. The debate on the Self-denying Ordinance was resumed 24th March, when several material alterations were made in it. The most material change is thus stated by Hallam:-"In the original ordinance the members of both Houses were excluded during the war; but in the second, which was carried, the measure was made prospective. This, which

most historians have overlooked, is well pointed out by Mr. Godwin. By virtue of this alteration, many officers were elected in the course of 1645 and 1656." Thus Cromwell, being found necessary to command the cavalry, Fairfax made a request for his services, which was granted by the committee of the two kingdoms; Brereton, Middleton, and others were also continued in their commands. A declaration of the Commons to be tender of the honor and rights of the peerage of England, put the Lords in better humour, and they passed the ordinance, the lord-general Essex, and the Earls of Manchester and Denbigh having resigned their commissions the day before.

SECTION XX. THE CIVIL WAR IN 1645.

1. The condition of the two armies. The Commons had employed the winter months in reforming their military force. Instead of separate commands, the entire army was entrusted to one commander. The force was to consist of twenty one thousand effective men, of which seven thousand were to be cavalry; great care was taken in selecting the privates, to secure a majority of Independents. "These men," observes Lingard, “were animated with an enthusiasm of which at the present day we cannot form an adequate conception. They divided their time between military duties and prayer; they sang psalms as they advanced to the charge; they called on the name of the Lord while they were slaying their enemies. The result showed that fanaticism furnished a more powerful stimulus than loyalty; the soldiers of God proved more than a match for the soldiers of the monarch".

On the side of the king, there was a ruinous want of unity. The army was scattered in numerous petty garrisons; its generals were divided by faction, and thought it no dishonor to disobey commands even when issued by the king; the officers lived in notorious debauchery and the privates at free quarters. It was the excesses of the royalist forces, that led to the formation in the West, of associations, known as club-men, for the protection of property and the infliction of vengeance on depredators.

2. Fairfax defeats Charles at Naseby, June 14, 1645. Before Charles left Oxford to commence the campaign, Rupert advanced from Worcester to join him. At Ledbury, Colonel Massey tried to bar his passage and met with defeat. It was this reverse, that led the committee of the two kingdoms to order Cromwell with his cavalry to guard the roads between Ledbury and Oxford. In five days, Cromwell defeated the royalists at Islip-bridge, Witney, and Bampton Bush, besides taking Bletch

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