The Right Wing

It was apparently intended, as might be expected that the horse on the right wing should be commanded by the LieutenantGeneral of Horse, Lord George Goring, and his Lifeguard of Horse wag in the first line. But it is interesting that De Gomme shows Rupert's Lifeguard (150 men) brigaded with Goring's Lifeguard, which may have been of similar strength or slightly larger. This suggests that the Prince may have intended to charge on the right with the horse, and, as at Naseby, leave command of the reserve to someone else (probably Sir Henry Gage). He has been condemned for this action at Naseby, though at least at Donnington Gage would have made a competent Subordinate. The Two divisions on the left of the Royalist front line were formed from Lord Gerrard's horse, presumably including his own Regiment of Horse and some other units from his command in South Wales. They were probably about 600 strong.

Positioned to the right rear of Rupert and Goring's Lifeguards was a body made up of Prince Rupert and Colonel Richard Neville (ex Earl of Carnarvon's) Regiments. It was intended to protect the flank of the Royalist horse, and was a formidable unit, perhaps 400 strong.

The second line (of 3 divisions) was made up by the Earl of Northampton's Brigade, which in April had included 4 regiments and totalled about 900 men. It would be unwise to claim that either its composition or strength were the same in November. It must however have included many experienced troops and been reasonably up to strength. Interspersed among the horse were about 500 musketeers, 330 of them drawn from the King's foot, and the remainder possibly consisting of Sir Thomas Hooper's Regiment of Dragoons. Total strength of the right wing was probably about 1,900 horse and 500 musketeers.

The Left Wing

The left wing was apparently commanded by Prince Maurice, with the capable backing of Sir Marmaduke Langdale. On the left of the first line was a division formed from Prince Maurice and Sir George Vaughan's Regiments. Though De Gomme does not say so, it seems likely that the Queen's Regiment may also have been in this division, which was probably about 300 men.

On the right was the brigade of Northern Horse commanded by Sir Marmaduke Langdale, formed into 2 divisions. If the organisation was the same as that possibly adopted in 1645, the 2 divisions, possibly commanded by Sir Phillip Monckton and Sir Gameliel Dudley, consisted mainly of Yorkshire and Lancashire troops, up to 800 in all.

To the left rear of the first line is a division attributed by De Gomme to Lord Cleveland. The Earl of Cleveland had been taken prisoner at 2nd Newbury, and his brigade, which included the regiments of Cleveland, Sir Nicholas Crispe, John Fleetwood, James Hamilton, Richard Thornhill and Sir Thomas Culpepper, had totalled 800 men in September, but was doubtless somewhat less by now. It is uncertain who was now in command.

On the left of the second line of horse was Lord Wentworth's division. Wentworth was the son of the Earl of Cleveland, and Major-General of Horse to Lord Goring. He had occupied the same post under Lord Wilmot, and on the latter's disgrace, may well have succeeded to the command of his brigade. It is impossible to state with accuracy which units formed the brigade, but among them were probably the regiments of the Lord General, Thomas Howard, and Gerrard Croker with the remnants of a number of other small units, perhaps 400 men in all.

The division on Wentworth's right was commanded by Sir Humphrey Bennet, and was also part of the Oxford Army. In June, besides his own Regiment, Bennet had had the regiments of Sir Edward Waldegrave and Andrew Lyndsey and various smaller units. He may have had 1 000 men in the spring, but Would have been lucky to muster half that number now.

To Bennet's right was a division commanded by Sir Thomas Aston. Aston, after serving in Cheshire had eventually made his way to the West Country. In 1645 he was to be considered for the post of' Major-General to Rupert, largely because of his seniority. It seems probable that Aston was now, in command of the bulk of the horse of the Western Army probably composed of elements of a number of weak units, including the regiments of John Digby, Edmund Fortescue and Thomas Hele.

Interspersed among the horse were 500 musketeers, of whom 358 were drawn from Maurice's Foot. The rest, like those on the right, were probably dragoons, perhaps those known to have been with the Northern Horse.

Total strength of the left wing was perhaps 2,700 horse and 500 foot.

The Centre

The foot were organised into two lines, four divisions in the first and three in the second. Overall command was exercised by Sir Jacob Astley. On the right were four divisions of foot from the Oxford Army, organised into two tertias, each perhaps 1,000 strong. During the Lostwithiel campaign the Oxford Army foot had formed three tertias, each of three bodies, under Thomas Blagge George Lisle and Sir Bernard Astley. It seems most likely that Blagge's tertia had now been absorbed into the other two, and it is a commentary on the effects of battle, discase and desertion that a force which had totalled between 5 and 6,000 men in the spring was now less than half that figure.

On the left were the foot of the Western Army, three bodies organised into one tertia (in the summer there had probably been three, totalling 4,600 men), about 1,500 men. Elements of up to 16 regiments may have been present, all very much understrength. Colonel Edmund Fortescue's Regiment, for example, was no more than 80 strong. The Western foot were no doubt commanded by Maurice's Major General, Sir Joseph Wagstaffe.

No doubt with memories of Marston Moor, Rupert had placed between the two lines of foot the brigade of Northern Horse commanded by Sir William Blakiston, who had so distinguished himself upon that occasion. It was organised into two divisions of Northumberland and Durham troops commanded by-Francis Carnaby and George Wray, and was about 800 strong.

Behind the second line of foot were two more bodies of horse. On the right was a division led by Colonel Francis Cooke, whose own regiment was probably fairly small, (less than 100 men). Whether he was brigaded with any other units is unclear.

On Cooke's left was Colonel Sir Samuel Tuke's Regiment (the Duke of York's) which had been no more than 200 strong at Marston Moor, and was probably less now.

The Reserve

Nominally led by the King, but more probably by Sir Henry Gage, it consisted of 3 bodies of horse. On the right Lord Hopton's Lifeguard and possibly his Regiment of Horse, in the centre the King's Lifeguard, formed around a core of about 150 men, but doubtless strengthened, at least numerically, by numerous courtiers and hangers-on. On the left was a body of (probably) Western horse led by John Wake.

On either side of the King's Lifeguard were two bodies of foot drawn from the Oxford garrison and commanded by Sir Henry Gage. They consisted of the Queen's Lifeguard of Foot and Sir Stephen Hawkin's coated Regiment. The total strength of the reserve was probably about 600 horse and 500 foot.

De Gomme's Plan does not show the location of any Royalist guns. It may be that the Royalists relied upon covering fire from Donnington Castle, though there may have been some light guns in the intervals of the bodies of foot.

Sources

Gardiner, S.R. "History of the Great Civil War" 1893.
Reid, Stuart 0ifficers and Regiments of the Royalist Army"
Walker, Sir Edward "Historical Discourses" 1701
Young, Peter and Toynbee Margaret "Cropredy Bridge" 1970
Young, Peter "Naseby" 1984
Barratt, John "The Oxford Army and its Regiments of Foot" E.C.W. Notes and Queries nos. 27 and 29.
Symonds, Richard "Complete Military Diary" 1989.

Relief of Donnington Castle

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