SETTING THE SCENE ROYALISTS Commander – Prince Rupert Size of Force – 1000 Other Officers Present Prince Maurice Lord Byron Lord Wilmot Lord Digby Sir Lewis Dyve Sir Charles Lucas PARLIAMENTARIANS Commander – Colonel John Brown Size of Force – 1000 Other Officers Present Colonel Sandy’s Captain Edward Wingate Captain Nathaniel Fiennes Captain John Fiennes Since August 1642 when King Charles raised his standard, both sides had put more drive into the recruiting which had already been going on before. It was clear who held the lead though, as Parliament’s Commander-in-chief the Earl of Essex, had 15,000 men at his disposal to, “Rescue the King’s person from his evil advisors.” The King on the other hand had about 4,000 men and Parliament was hopeful of a swift campaign which would avoid a battle and compel the King to back down and accept its humiliating terms. After Charles marched from Nottingham to Shrewsbury, recruits flocked to him. Those who had been reluctant to declare for him had held back due to his eleventh hour attempts at peace, but now he had raised the standard, they answered. Miners from the mines at Stafford and tenants from the Royalist’s estates swelled his numbers. Experienced officers joined him and Charles was always at his best while marching and moving. In this way he inspired his men at Wellington when he made a speech that contained all the right phrases such as defending the Church of England, England’s peace and prosperity and the just privileges of Parliament. As he secured Chester and its port, Charles heard that Essex was moving towards Worcester, which was garrisoned for the King under Sir John Byron. Anxious to bolster the garrison, he sent his nephew Prince Rupert with eight troops of horse and ten companies of dragoons to re-enforce the town. Rupert though on examining the town’s defences, found it entirely indefensible and he knew that Byron must retreat before Essex’s full army arrived. The road to the east of Worcester was blocked, so Rupert deduced that Essex’s advance force would have to approach from the south and cross Powick Bridge. Rupert therefore placed his men in the field between Worcester and Powick Bridge, while Byron retreated to the King in the North. Rupert kept the horse back and sent a party of dragoons to occupy the hedges which hemmed the exit from the bridge. Thus neither side knew of the existence of the other, despite the Prince’s orders that Lord Wilmot scout the area. Wilmot reported no signs of the enemy in the area and Rupert accordingly dismounted with the horse and they whole company rested beneath the trees. It was at 4pm when Colonel’s Brown and Sandy’s of Essex’s army, crossed the bridge with armoured Parliamentary horsemen of the advance guard. They were fired on by the dragoons, but continued to enter the meadow and draw up. Rupert’s men, devoid of armour and helmets quickly saw the danger. With no time to don armour or draw up, Rupert simply jumped onto his horse and rode towards the enemy, calling on his men to follow. Rupert had about 500 men and as they recovered from the shock, the sheer terror and surprise they had on the still deploying Parliamentarian’s had the desired effect. Without being fully deployed, Sandy’s was in turmoil and they began to flee, receiving such a shock force attack stationary. Only Nathaniel Fiennes managed to counter-attack, routing Sir Lewis Dyve’s regiment, but soon enough, they were forced to retreat due to their comrades defeat. Thus Rupert had secured a small victory, the first clash between the two sides and one which was so confused in tactics and time, that the Parliament did not know what had hit it. It created havoc with their morale, lowered confidence in their abilities and created a fear of Prince Rupert. On the opposite hand, Rupert became a hero with the Royalist’s and his battle tactics revolutionised the attack of cavalry. The royalist’s hearts were raised despite their inferior numbers and it showed that the King’s army however inferior in numbers was able to inflict defeat. In short, it meant that the Royalist’s could continue on with the war, for men would come to the side of any which seemed to be winning. One month after the King’s Lieutenant General of foot advised him in Nottingham that he could not account for his safety, now the King was well on his way to countering Essex’s 15,000. By the time of Edgehill in October, he had forces enough to equal that of Parliament. WOUNDED ROYALIST Prince Maurice Lord Wilmot Sir Lewis Dyve Sir Charles Lucas PARLIAMENTARIAN Colonel Sandy’s 15 out of 60 commissioned officers The Royalist’s had captured 50-80 prisoners and half a dozen standards. The Royalists had lost few men in the fight. The Parliamentarian’s had lost between 100-150 men. TIMELINE 10th Jan 1642 – King and Royal family flee London as the London Trained Bands are raised for Parliament. Only the small Royal Lifeguard remains to safeguard the King’s person. 31st Jan 1642 – Hull is occupied for Parliament, being the host of many weapons and arsenal from the Northern Wars with Scotland. 5th March 1642 – Parliament declares that it is taking over control of the armed forces from the King, after the King refuses to agree to this becoming law. When asked to part with his lawful prerogative the King replied, “By God, not for an hour! You have asked that of me which was never asked of a King.” 19th March 1642 – The King enters York. 20th May 1642 – The King forms a lifeguard of horsemen. 27th May 1642 – Parliament decrees that people should obey only its orders. The King though decrees that army who do recognise Parliament’s assertion to control the armed forces is guilty of High treason. 2nd June 1642 – Parliament send the King the Nineteen Propositions, which demands 12th June 1642 – King puts into effect the Commissions of Array, an old way of raising troops locally by local men of position, whom the King gives commissions to. This is in response to Parliament’s raising of men under their Militia Ordinance in which they declared their control of the armed forces. 22nd August 1642 – King raises his standard in Nottingham. 10th-14th September – Earl of Essex and his army are at Northampton. 20th September 1642 – King reaches Shrewsbury. 23rd September 1642- Skirmish at Powick Bridge. WHY WAR? But why did the English Civil War occur? – Now with a new online course, you can explore the background to 17th century England, the origins and causes of the English Civil War. The course is written by Mark Turnbull, the author of the unpublished King or Parliament novel and the magweb magazine. It runs for 4 weeks and costs £3.65 for the quick course and £6.10 for the full course with tuition and support. For further information, visit the following site – www.kingcharles.biz Back to Table of Contents -- King or Parliament #4 Back to King or Parliament List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2003 by Mark Turnbull. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com