“The foe is in sight. The best encouragement I can give you is this. Come life or death, your King will bear you company and ever keep this field, this place and this days service in his grateful remembrances.”
--Charles I to his senior officers before Edgehill.
“The enemy are Papists, Atheists and Irreligious persons for the most part…”
--Sir James Ramsey, Roundhead left wing Commander.
It was October 22nd when King Charles I sat on horseback near Edgecote. The King and his army were preparing quarters for the night, amid a confused panic about the proximity of Lord Essex and the rebel army.
The King was in a rather despondent mood, realising as he did that a battle would no doubt occur soon and he would find himself amid Englishmen fighting Englishmen, trying to save his lawful authority and his people, from an aggressive and greedy Parliament.
Breathing a heavy sigh, he observed a gentleman hunting, with a fine pack of hounds and servants in the distance.
Enquiring as to who was enjoying hunting as he himself was about to face battle to for his crown and dignity, the King was told one Richard Shuckburgh.
Charles ordered the stranger to be called over, receiving him with a gracious and happy welcome.
Shuckburgh who was immediately taken by Charles’s character and immense charm, left him and once back home, armed all his tenants for the forthcoming battle. The thankful and impressed King then knighted him for his loyal actions.
That night, after Prince Rupert had made a surprise discovery of the enemy at close quarters, he rode through the dank night to find the elusive lodgings of the King.
After locating him with Lord Forth and Lord Percy, Rupert requested permission to set off to occupy a good position in front of the slow and lethargic Parliamentary army.
Rupert eventually got his men into the night march, the King ordering the foot as per Rupert’s advice, to move towards Edgehill.
The following morning, the Royalists and Rupert had seized the high ground on Edgehill, and the rest of the army arrived in succession. First at around 10am to 11am, came the rest of the Royalist horse, and then around an hour later, half the foot arrived, followed by the others another two hours later.
While they were waiting for their army, the Royalist high command had plenty of spare time to view the enemy below, who were drawing out of Kineton and into formation to oppose them.
Day of Battle
The morning had developed into a glorious day, cloudless and bright. The first battle of Edgehill now took place, although this was a battle of wills and ideals within the Royalists, not the eventual battle with the enemy.
The commander in chief of the Royalists, the Earl of Lindsey now planned to order his foot regiments to form up in the traditional Dutch fashion. Once this was known, other commanders like Prince Rupert and old Lord Forth put forward their suggestion to form up in the newer Swedish fashion.
Lindsey, a proud man with a history of warfare experience then took the opposing ideas ill and when the King came down on the side of Rupert and Forth, it was the final straw for him.
Flinging his baton to the ground in front of the army, Lindsey told the King, that since he thought him unfit to carry out the duties of commander, then he should place himself at the head of his own regiment and fight as a mere colonel. Immediately marching back to his regiment in a fury of deflated pride, Lindsey would have realised that such an outburst would have lost him honour and his army position.
As such, when they saw that the Parliamentarians were quite happy to stand to in their positions, rather than attack a superior Royalist position, King Charles was left with no alternative but to descend the slope of Edgehill. Once at the foot, the Royalists were left to form up unmolested by Essex and the rebel army facing them, in the Swedish fashion, with musketeers interspersed with the pikemen.
At this point, after the regiments were in battalia, a group of horsemen began a ceremonious march down the line. The sight was magnificent; around fifty horsemen from the Kings Gentlemen Pensioners rode with His Majesty, the young Prince of Wales and Duke of York, together with the great officers of the army, minus Lindsey. Lord Forth had been promoted in Lindsey’s place.
As they rode, a huge scarlet banner was carried in front of the King, so that everyone in the army could see where he was. Charles himself was equally resplendid, dressed with a black velvet coat lined with ermine, his long auburn hair partially covered with a steel cap covered in velvet.
Riding to all the brigades of horse and tertias of foot, Charles personally encouraged them all to do duty, with great courage and cheerfulness. This caused such a rush of pride and awe that regiment after regiment began to cheer and every moral was boosted.
The large scarlet flag showed no partisanship however, displaying the King’s position to Royalist and Roundhead alike. It was not long before Essex picked up on this and ordered his guns to open fire on his King. Thus hoping to destroy his target, Essex also unwittingly destroyed his own sides’ argument. The Parliamentarians always claimed, “For King and Parliament!” They claimed they were loyal to the King, but fighting to release him from the grip of dangerous advisors who made him do their will and not against his person. If this were true, then Essex by firing straight at his King and the scarlet standard, had a funny way of showing he was loyal.
After the Parliamentarians opened fire, the Royalist guns responded likewise, but having nearly 10 guns less than them, the Royalists were at a disadvantage with fire power.
First Casualty
The battle of Edgehill had begun and the first casualty was Lieutenant Francis Bowles of Lord Fielding's Royalist regiment.
As the regiments were ready to march and engage, the King waiting with them to lead, the senior officers approached him. Advising that it would be safer and better for the army if he withdrew slightly, they suggested the rising ground to their right.
As the battle was imminent, Prince Rupert in command of the Royalist right wing, began addressing his horsemen. He gave positive orders to march as close as possible together, keep ranks with sword in hand and receive the enemies shot without firing any pistol or carbine until they had broken into the enemy lines. After riding hell for leather over to the left wing, Rupert re-iterated this order to them.
The enemy had placed dragoons on either side of their wings in the hedges and the Royalists quickly noted the havoc they could play on their advancing horsemen. James Usher and his dragoons were sent to attack the Roundhead dragoons facing the Royalist right, while Sir Arthur Aston went against the ones facing the Royalist left. Both succeeded in scattering them, the enemy that could find horses, riding clean away. Such a display in front of Essex’s army prepared no doubt a dreading for the approaching battle and worked much in the Kings favour.
As if this was not enough, Rupert soon thought he saw the enemy charging to him, but he was stunned to see that one man was spurring forward towards him, ripping off his orange Parliamentary scarf and telling that his commander, Sir Faithful Fortesque, would be changing sides.
The signal for the aptly names Faithful’s conversion, would be the firing of his pistol into the ground. Rupert seized the moment to send riders out to forewarn his subordinate commanders of this bold move. Fatally, two regiments were left ignorant; Sir John Byron and Sir William Killigrews.
Rupert now knew this was the moment to commence battle and soon the Royalist right wing of horse were moving forward in three deep lines, just as Rupert had carefully planned with his quick mind.
Map
More Edgehill
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© Copyright 2002 by Mark Turnbull.
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