unwarrantable Courses but he made his Escape by Water for that time and one of the most active of the People was seized and executed which served only to exasperate the rest Upon the near Approach of the English and Scots Army a considerable Party of each side encountred and the English contrary to their wonted Custom retired in Disorder not without Shame and some Loss Of such Force and Consequence is a Belief and full Perswasion of the Justice of an Undertaking tho managed by an Enemy in other respects inconsiderable The King startled at the Unsuccessfulness of his first Attempt upon the Petition of a considerable number of the well-affected Nobility requesting him that to avoid the Effusion of more Blood he would call an Assembly of the Nobility consented thereunto This Council accordingly met at York and advised the King to a Cessation of Arms and the Calling of a Parliament to compose Differences which to the great trouble of the Clergy and other Incendiaries he promised to do assuring the Scots of the Paiment of twenty thousand Pounds a Month to maintain their Army till the Pleasure of the Parliament should be known In order to which Writs were issued out for the Meeting of a Parliament on the 3 d of November 1640. The time prefix'd for their assembling being come they met accordingly and as they were very sensible that nothing but an absolute Necessity permitted their coming together so they resolved to improve this happy Opportunity to free the People from their Burdens and to punish the Authors of the late Disorders To this end they declared against Monopolies and expelled the Authors of them out of the House The Opinions of the Judges concerning Ship-Money they voted unjust and illegal fining and imprisoning those that had warranted the Lawfulness thereof And that the Offenders against the Publick might not escape they ordered the Sea-Ports to be diligently guarded and all Passengers to be strictly examined This being done they impeached the Lord Keeper Finch the Earl of Strafford and the Arch-bishop of Canterbury of High Treason in endeavouring to subvert the Laws and to erect an Arbitrary and Tyrannical Power They declared that they would pay the English and Scots Armies to the end of May 1641. and assist the Prince Palatine with Men and Money to recover his Country And now having the Charge of two Armies to pay and all Men suspecting they might be abruptly dissolved as had often hapned before and therefore refusing to credit them with such Sums as were necessary unless an Act might pass to secure their sitting till they should think fit to dissolve themselves by Act of Parliament the King gave his Assent to one drawn up and passed to that purpose Another Act likewise passed to assert that according to the antient Fundamental Laws of England a Parliament ought to be held every Year and directing that in case one was not called in three Years the Lord Chancellor or Keeper of the Great Seal should issue out Writs as is therein expressed and if he fail in his Duty he is declared guilty of High Treason and a certain number of Lords impowered to summon the said Parliament and is they should neglect so to do the Sheriffs and Constables are vested with the same Authority But if it should happen that all the forementioned Powers should be wanting in their Duty the People of England are thereby authorized to put the said Act in execution by meeting and electing Members to serve in Parliament tho not summoned by any Officers appointed to that end The Parliament then proceeded to correct the Abuses that had been introduced in the preceding Years Whereupon the Star-Chamber the High Commission Court the Court of Honour with some others were taken away by Act of Parliament and the Power of the Council-Table restrained The Commissioners of the Custom-House who had collected Customs contrary to Law were fined and such as had been imprisoned by any of the above-mentioned Arbitrary Courts were set at liberty A Protestation was also agreed upon by the Lords and Commons which they took and presented to others to take whereby all those that took it obliged themselves to defend and maintain the Power and Privileges of Parliament the Rights and Liberties of the People to use their utmost Endeavours to bring to condign Punishment all those who should by Force or otherwise do any thing to the contrary and to stand by and justify all such as should do any thing in prosecution of the said Protestation The Day prefix'd for the Earl of Strafford's Trial being come he was brought before the House of Peers where the Charge against him was managed by Members of the House of Commons appointed to that end The chief Heads of the Accusation were That he had governed the Kingdom of Ireland in an Arbitrary manner That he had retained the Revenues of the Crown without rendring a due Account of them That he had encouraged and promoted the Romish Religion That he had endeavoured to create Feuds and Quarrels between England and Scotland That he had laboured to render the Parliament suspected and odious to the King That he was the Author of that Advice That since the Parliament had denied to grant the King such Supplies as he demanded he was at liberty to raise them by such Means as he thought fit and that he had an Irish Army that would assist him to that end It being the Custom that a Lord High Steward should be made to preside at the Trial of a Peer that Honour was conferred upon the Earl of Arundel The King the Queen the House of Commons the Deputies of Scotland and Ireland with many other Persons of Quality of both Sexes were there present I remember the Earl of Strafford in his Defence objected against the Evidence of the Earl of Cork denying him to be a competent Witness because his Enemy To which George Lord Digby who was appointed one of the Managers of the Charge against him replied That if that Objection should be of any weight with the Court the Earl of Strafford had found out a certain way to secure himself from any sarther Prosecution Yet this Man who then spoke with so much Vigour soon after altered his Language and made a Speech to the House in his favour which he caused to be printed and also surreptitiously withdrew a Paper from the Committee containing the principal Evidence against the said Earl The Parliament resenting this Prevarication ordered his Speech to be burnt by the Hands of the Common Hangman The House of Commons having passed a Bill for the Condemnation of the Earl it was carried to the Lords for their Concurrence which they gave The King not satisfied therewith consulted with the Privy Council some Judges and four Bishops And all of them except one advise the throwing of Jonas over-board for the appeasing of the Storm Upon which the Earl of Arundel the Lord Privy Seal and two more were commissionated by
the King to sign the Warrant for his Execution Which they did upon the twelfth of May following and the 22 d of the same Month the Earl of Strafford was beheaded accordingly At this time a treacherous Design was set on foot not without the Participation of the King as appear'd under his own Hand to bring up the English Army and by Force to dissolve the Parliament the Plunder of London being promised to the Officers and Souldiers as a Reward for that Service This was confessed by the Lord Goring Mr. Piercy and others The Scots Army was also tried and the sour Northern Counties offered to be given to them in case they will undertake the same Design And tho neither of these Attempts did succeed yet the King pleased himself with hopes that a seasonable time for dissolving the Parliament would come and then all Power reverting into his own Hands he would deal with their new enacted Laws as he had done besore with the Petition of Right and with their Members as he had done with those of the former Parliaments And that he might not long languish in this Expectation he sent to the House desiring that at once they would make their full Demands and prepare Bills accordingly for his Assent assuring them of his Readiness to comply with their Desires But they perceiving the Design return'd for answer That they could not suddenly resolve on so weighty a Work but would do it with all possible speed In the mean time to improve the present Opportunity they prevail with the King to pass an Act for the Exclusion of the Bishops out of the House of Lords for tho he was unwilling to grant the Parliament any thing yet the State of his Affairs was such that he durst deny them no reasonable thing And now having paid to the Scots and English Armies what was due to them they dismissed them to their respective homes The King having laid his Designs in Ireland as will afterwards appear was not without great Difficulty prevailed with by the Parliament to consent to the disbanding of those eight thousand Irish Papists that had been raised there by the Earl of Strafford Soon after which he resolved upon a Journey to Scotland and tho the Parliament endeavoured to disswade him from it or at least to defer it to a fitter Opportunity he refused to hearken to them under pretence that the Affairs of that Kingdom necessarily required his Presence but in truth his great business was to leave no means unattempted to take off that Nation from their Adherence to the Parliament of England Before his Departure he signed a Commission to certain Persons impowering them to pass the Bills that should be tender'd in his Absence Whilst he was about this Work in Scotland the News of the Irish Rebellion was brought to him that the Papists throughout that Kingdom were in Arms that their Design to surprize and seize the Castle of Dublin had not succeeded being discovered by one O Connelly a Servant of Sir John Clotworthy's and that the Lord Macquire and Mac-mahon who were appointed to that end were taken and sent into England where they were soon after executed for the same The News of this Rrebellion as I have heard from Persons of undoubted Credit was not displcasing to the King tho it was attended with the Massacre of many thousands of the Protestants there Having made what Progress he could in Scotland confirming by Act of Parliament not only what he had formerly granted them but also what they had done in their Assembly at Glascow and in effect whatsoever they desired of him he returned to London where being received with Acclamations and treated at the Expence of the City he became elevated to that degree that in his first Speech to the Commons he sharply reproved them for that instead of thanking him for what he had done they continued to multiply their Demands and Dissatisfactions Whereupon the Parliament were confirmed in their Suspicions that he design'd to break what he had already granted so soon as he had Opportunity and Power in his hands to plead that he was under a Force as some of his Predecessors had done and so reverse what had been enacted for the Good of the People revenge himself on those who had been Instruments in compelling him thereto and fortify himself against the like for the future These Apprehensions made them carnestly insist upon settling the Militia of the Nation in such Hands as both Houses of Parliament should recommend to him particularly representing the great Dissatisfaction of the City of London that Sir William Bâ—lfeur for refusing to permit the Earl of Strafford to escape was dismissed from his Charge of Lieutenant of the Tower and the Government of it put into the hands of one Lunsford a Souldier of Fortune of a profligate Conversation and fit for any wicked Design With much difficulty this Lunsford was removed and Sir John Conyers put into his place but the Parliament and City not satisfied with this Choice and having discovered that Sir John Suckling under pretence of raising a Regiment for Portugal was bringing together a number of Mento seize the Tower for the King it was at last entrusted to the Custody of the Lord Mayor of London About this time great Numbers of English Protestants flying from the bloody Hands of the Irish Rebels arrived in England filling all Places with sad complaints of their Cruelties to the Protestants of that Kingdom Whereupon the Parliament earnestly pressed the King to proclaim them Rebels but could not obtain it to be done till after many Weeks and then but forty of those Proclamations were printed and not above half of them published which was the more observed and resented by reason of the different Treatment that the Scots had met with who no sooner appeared in a much better Cause but they were forth with declared Rebels in every Parish-Church within the Kingdom of England The Rebels in Ireland pretended a Commission from the King for what they did which so alarm'd the People of England that the King thought himself necessitated to do something therein and therefore to carry on his Design he acquainted the Parliament that when an Army was raised he would go in Person to reduce them but they apprehending this pretended Resolution to be only in order to put himself at the Head of an Army that he might reduce the Parliament to his Will refused to consent and procured an Act to pass for the leaving of that War to the management of the two Houses the King obliging himself not to give Terms to any of the Rebels or to make Peace with them without the Parliament's Consent In this Act Provision was made for the satisfying of such as should advance Money for the reduction of Ireland out of the Rebels Lands in several Provinces according to the Rates therein mentioned Upon which considerable Sums of Money were sâ—on brought in The Parliament neglecting no Opportunity
for their own Security The Scots Commissioners also who had been long tampering with him took hold of this Opportunity to perswade him to come to their Terms by augmenting his Fears as much as they could It was also proposed that he should conceal himself in England but that was thought unsafe if not impossible Some there were who proposed his going to Jersey which was then kept for him but the King being told by the Earl of Lanerick that the Ships provided by Sir John Barkley for that purpose had been discovered and seized tho Sir John affirms in his Papers that none were provided that Design was laid aside At last the King resolved to go to the Isle of Wight being as is most probable recommended thither by Cromwell who as well as the King had a good Opinion of Col. Hammond the Governour there To this end the King sent Mr. William Leg to Sir John Barkley and Mr. Ashburnham requiring them to assist him in his Escape and Horses were laid at Sutton in Hampshire to that purpose On the day following Sir John Barkley and Mr. Ashburnham waiting with Horses the King with Mr. Leg came out towards the Evening and being mounted they designed to ride through the Forest having the King for their Guide but they lost the way so that the Night proving dark and stormy and the Ways very bad they could not reach Sutton before break of day tho they hoped to have been there three hours before At Sutton they were informed that a Committee of the County was there sitting by Order of the Parliament which when the King heard he passed by that Place and continued his way towards Southampton attended only by Mr. Leg and went to a House of the Earl of Southampton at Titchfield having sent Sir John Barkley and Mr. Ashburnham to Col. Hammond Governour of the Isle of Wight with a Copy of the Letter left upon the Table in his Chamber at Hampton-Court and two other Letters which he had lately received one of them without a Name expressing great Fears and Apprehensions of the ill Intentions of the Commonwealth-Party against the King The other from Cromwell much to the same purpose with this Addition that in prosecution thereof a new Guard was designed the next day to be placed about the King consisting of Men of that Party He also sent by them a Letter to Col. Hammond wherein after he had expressed his Distrust of the Levelling Part of the Army as he termed it and the necessity lying upon him to provide for his own Safety he assured him that he did not intend to desert the Interest of the Army ordering his two Messengers to acquaint him that of all the Army the King had chosen to put himself upon him whom he knew to be a Person of a good Extraction and tho engaged against him in the War yet without any Animosity to his Person to which he was informed he had no Aversion that he did not think it fit to surprize him and therefore had sent the two Persons before-mentioned to advertise him of his Intentions and to desire his Promise to protect the King and his Servants to the best of his Power and if it should happen that he was not able to do it then to oblige himself to leave them in as good a Condition as he found them Being ready to depart with these Instructions Sir John Barkley said to the King that having no knowledg of the Governour he could not tell whether he might not detain them in the Island and therefore advised if they returned not the next day that he would think no more of them but secure his own Escape Towards Evening they arrived at Limmington but could not pass by reason of a violent Storm The next Morning they got over to the Island and went directly to Carisbrook-Castle the Residence of the Governour where they were told that he was gone towards Newport Upon this notice they rode after and having overtaken and acquainted him with their Message he grew pale and fell into such a trembling that it was thought he would have fallen from his Horse In this Consternation he continued about an hour breaking out sometimes into passionate and distracted Expressions saying O Gentlemen you have undone me in bringing the King into the Island if at least you have brought him and if you have not I pray let him not come for what between my Duty to the King and Gratitude to him upon this fresh Obligation of Confidence and the Discharge of my Trust to the Army I shall be confounded Upon this they took occasion to tell him that the King intended a Favour to him and his Posterity in giving him this Opportunity to lay a great Obligation upon him and such as was very consistent with his relation to the Army who had solemnly engaged themselves to the King but if he thought otherwise the King would be far from imposing his Person upon him but said the Governour if the King should come to any Mischance what would the Army and the King say to him that had refused to receive him To which they answered that he had not refused him who was not come to him Then beginning to speak more calmly he desired to know where the King was and wished that he had absolutely thrown himself upon him which made the two Gentlemen suspect that the Governour was not for their turn but Mr. Ashburnham fearing what would become of the King if he should be discovered before he had gained this point took the Governour aside and after some Conference prevailed with him to declare That he did believe the King relied on him as a Person of Honour and Honesty and therefore he did engage himself to perform whatsoever could be expected from a Person so qualified Mr. Ashburnham replied I will ask no more Then said the Governour Let us all go to the King and acquaint him with it When they came to Cowes-Castle where a Boat lay to carry them over Col. Hammond took Capt. Basket the Governour of that Castle with him and gave order for a File or two of Musqueteers to follow them in another Boat When they came to the Earl of Southampton's House Mr. Ashburnham leaving Sir John Barkley below with Col. Hammond and Capt. Basket went up to the King and having given an Account of what had passed between the Governour and them and that he was come with them to make good what he had promised the King striking his Hand upon his Breast said What have you brought Hammond with you O you have undone me for I am by this means made fast from stirring Mr. Ashburnham then told him that if he mistrusted Hammond he would undertake to secure him To which the King replied I understand you well enough but if I should follow that Counsel it would be said and believed that he ventured his Life for me and that I had unworthily taken it from him Telling him further That
defence of the Laws openly and frequently violated by the King who had made it the chief business of his Reign to invade the Rights and Privileges of the People raising Taxes by various Arts without their Consent in Parliament encouraging and preferring a formal and superstitious Clergy discouraging the sober and vertuous amongst them imposing upon all the Inventions of Men in the room of the Institutions of God And knowing that Parliaments were the most likely means to rectify what was amiss to give a check to his Ambition and to punish the principal Instruments of that illegal Power which he had assumed had endeavoured either to prevent their Meeting or to render them fruitless to the People and only serviceable to his corrupt ends by granting him Money to carry on his pernicious Designs A Parliament being now called and an Act passed authorizing them to fit till they should think fit to dissolve themselves And it being manifest to them and to all those who had any Concern for the Happiness of the Nation that the King would do nothing effectually to redress the present or to secure the People from future Mischiefs chusing rather to contend with them by Arms than for their satisfaction to entrust the Militia in faithful Hands resolving to impose that by the Force of his Arms which he could not do by the Strength of his Arguments I thought it my Duty upon consideration of my Age and vigorous Constitution as an English-man and an Invitation to that purpose from my Father to enter into the Service of my Country in the Army commanded by the Earl of Essex under the Authority of the Parliament I thought the Justice of that Cause I had engaged in to be so evident that I could not imagine it to be attended with much Difficulty For tho I supposed that many of the Clergy who had been the principal Authors of our Miseries together with some of the Courtiers and such as absolutely depended upon the King for their Subsistence as also some Foreigners would adhere to him yet I could not think that many of the People who had been long oppressed with heavy Burdens and now with great difficulty had obtained a Parliament composed of such Persons as were willing to run all Hazards to procure a lasting Settlement for the Nation would be either such Enemies to themselves or so ungrateful to those they had trusted as not to stand by them to the utmost of their Power at least tho some might not have so much Resolution and Courage as to venture All with them yet that they would not be so treacherous and unworthy to strengthen the Hands of the Enemy against those who had the Laws of God Nature and Reason as well as those of the Land on their side Soon after my Engagement in this Cause I met with Mr. Richard Fynes Son to the Lord Say and Mr. Charles Fleetwood Son to Sir Miles Eleetwood then a Member of the House of Commons with whom consulting it was resolved by us to assemble as many young Gentlemen of the Inns of Court of which we then were and others as should be found disposed to this Service in order to be instructed together in the use of Arms to render our selves fit and capable of acting in case there should be occasion to make use of us To this end we procured a Person experienced in military Affairs to instruct us in the use of Arms and for some time we frequently met to exercise at the Artillery-Ground in London And being informed that the Parliament had resolved to raise a Life-Guard for the Earl of Essex to consist of a hundred Gentlemen under the Command of Sir Philip Stapylton a Member of Parliament most of our Company entred themselves therein and made up the greatest part of the said Guard amongst whom were Mr. Richard Fynes Mr. Charles Fleetwood afterwards Lieutenant General Major General Harrison Colonel Nathanael Rich Colonel Thomlinson Colonel Twisleton Colonel Bosewell Major Whitby and my self with divers others It was not long before the Army under the Command of the Earl of Essex was raised and ready to march so cheerfully did the People hoping that the time of their Deliverance was come offer their Persons and all that was necessary for the carrying on of that Work The appearance for the King was not very considerable whilst he continued at York but when he removed to Shrewsbery great Numbers out of Wales and the adjacent Parts resorted to him The Earl of Essex having notice that the King directed his March that way advanced with his Army towards Worcester and upon his approach to that Town received Advice that a Detachment commanded by Prince Rupert had possessed themselves of it for the King and that a Party of ours impatient of Delay had engaged the Enemy before our General could come up with great Disadvantage as I after wards observed upon view of the Place Ours consisted of about a thousand Horse and Dragoons the Enemy being more in number and drawn up in a body within Musquet-shot of a Bridg between Parshot and Worcester over which our Men resolved to march and attack them but before half their number was got over not being able to advance above eight or ten abreast by reason of a narrow Lane through which they were to pass till they came within Pistol-shot of the Enemy they were engaged and forced to retreat in Disorder tho they did as much as could well be expected from them upon so disadvantageous a Ground Some were killed upon the place amongst whom was Major Gunter a very gallant Man who as I have heard had endeavoured to disswade them from that Attempt others were drowned and divers taken Prisoners of the last was Colonel Sands who commanded the Party and was carried to Worcester where being mortally wounded he soon died with all possible Expressions of his hearty Affection to the Publick Cause The Body of our routed Party returned in great Disorder to Parshot at which place our Life-Guard was appointed to quarter that Night where as we were marching into the Town we discovered Horsemen riding very hard towards us with drawn Swords and many of them without Hats from whom we understood the Particulars of our Loss not without Improvement by reason of the Fear with which they were possessed telling us that the Enemy was hard by in pursuit of them whereas it afterwards appeared they came not within four Miles of that place Our Life-Guard being for the most part Strangers to things of this nature were much alarm'd with this Report yet some of us unwilling to give credit to it till we were better informed offered our selves to go out upon a surther Discovery of the matter But our Captain Sir Philip Stapylton not being then with us his Lieutenant one Bainham an old Souldier a Generation of Men much cried up at that time drawing us into a Field where he pretended we might more advantageously charge if there should be
my Father's Servants had so well conceal'd at the first breaking out of the War in a private part of my House that they escaped the Search of the Enemy who had plundered all they could find broken all the Windows taken away the Leads and pulled up the Boards in most parts of the House Whilst I was at London that Party which I left in the Country had taken some Wool and other things from the Lord Cottington the Lord Arundel and others which they sold and divided the Money amongst themselves From the Lord Cottington's they brought amongst other things a Horse that had been taken from me before at Warder-Castle The Lord Fairfax the Earl of Manchester and the Scots besieged York of which the Earl of Newcastle was Governour having with him a Garison consisting of six or seven thousand Foot besides Horse After some time spent in the Siege Prince Rupert arrived with about eighteen thousand Men and caused the Besiegers to raise the Siege who joining their Forces resolved to observe his Motions and to fight him if they found an occasion but that they might be a little refreshed and furnished with Provisions which they wanted they marched towards Tadcaster If Prince Rupert who had acquired Honour enough by the 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 Battel against the Advice of many of those that were with him in which the Lest Wing of the Enemy charging the Right Wing of ours consisting of English and Scots so totally routed them that the three Generals of the Parliament quitted the Field and fled towards Cawood Castle The Left Wing of our Army commanded by Col. Cromwell knowing nothing of this Rout engaged the Right Wing of the Enemy commanded by Prince Rupert who had gained an advantageous piece of Ground upon Marston-Moor and caused a Battery to be erected upon it from which Capt. Walton Cromwell's Sister's Son was wounded by a shot in the Knee Whereupon Col. Cromwell commanded two Field-pieces to be brought in order to annoy the Enemy appointing two Regiments of Foot to guard them who marching to that purpose were attacked by the Foot of the Enemies right Wing that fired thick upon them from the Ditches Upon this both Parties seconding their Foot were wholly engaged who before had stood only facing each other The Horse on both sides behaved themselves with the utmost Bravery for having discharged their Pistols and flung them at each others Heads they sell 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 Enemies Right Wing being totally routed and flying as the Parliament's had done before our Horse pursuing and killing many of them in their Flight And now the Enemies Left Wing who had been Conquerors returned to their former Ground presuming upon an entire Victory and utterly ignorant of what had befallen Prince Rupert but before they could put themselves into any order they were charged and entirely defeated by the Reserves of Cromwell's Brigade Prince Rupert upon the routing of the Parliament's Right Wing concluding all to be his own had sent Letters to the King to acquaint him with the Victory upon which the Bells were rung and Bonfires made at Oxford Sir Charles Lucas Major General Porter Major General Tilyard with above a hundred Officers more were taken Prisoners by the Parliament's Forces All the Enemies Artillery great Numbers of Arms and a good quantity of Ammunition and Baggage fell also into their hands The Prince's own Standard with the Arms of the Palatinate was likewise taken with many others both of Horse and Foot Fifteen days after this Fight being the 16 th of July 1644. the City of York was surrendred to the Parliament's Forces upon Articles and the Earl of Newcastle having had some Dispute with Prince Rupert before the Engagement wherein some Words had passed which the Earl could not well digest soon after left England and the Prince retired to Bristol The Earl of Essex was marched with his Army into Cornwall yet to what publick end I could never understand for the Enemy there had already dispersed themselves Some said that he was perswaded to march thither by the Lord Roberts to give him an opportunity to collect his Rents in those Parts Upon this the King drew out what Forces he could from Oxford designing to join them with some others in the West by which Conjunction the Parliament apprehending their Army under Essex to be in danger ordered Sir William Waller to observe the King's Motions But whether the Neglect of relieving him at the Devizes or the Affront put upon him by commanding him to follow the King after he had been ordered to attend the Service of the West or what else it was that had sower'd him I cannot say yet visible it was that so much Care and Expedition was not used in attending the King in his Marches as was requisite However Lieutenant General Middleton then under Sir William Waller was sent with a Party of Horse to the Assistance of the Earl of Essex but he kept at such a distance from him that he afforded him little Help Neither was there that Diligence as should have been then used by the Earl of Essex himself to engage the King before his Conjunction with the Western Forces or to fight them when they were united they not much if at all exceeding ours in Number and in Courage and Affection to the Cause engaged in much inferiour But the Earl of Essex and the Lord Roberts having led the Army into a Corner of Cornwall betook themselves to the Ships with which the Earl of Warwick attended the Motion of the Army Being thus deserted the Horse broke through the Enemy under the Conduct of Sir William Balfour the Foot and Train of Artillery being left with Major General Skippon about Bodmin who was forced about the latter end of September 1644. to make the best Terms he could with the Enemy for them agreeing to leave their Arms and Cannon behind them and to be conducted into the Parliament's Quarters with whatsoever belonged to them but before the Convoy had done with them they lost most of their Clothes and in that condition arrived at Portsmouth where they found their General the Earl of Essex 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 The Earl of Manchester and Sir
the adjacent Places and another Party to block up Dover and other Forts upon the Coast whilst Goring remained with the rest about Rochester Sir Thomas Fairfax resolving first to attack those about Maidstone fell upon them and beat them into the Town which they had fortified before whereupon tho the Numbers within the Town being at least equal to those without made it a Work of great Hazard and Difficulty yet considering that those with the Lord Goring exceeded either and might march to the Enemies Relief ours resolved to storm the Place which they did the Night following the General by his own Example encouraging the Men to fall on who for a good while were not able to make any considerable Progress till Col. Hewson with his Regiment opened a Passage into one of the Streets where the Dispute growing hot he was knocked down with a Musquet but recovering himself he pressed the Enemy so hard that they were forced to retreat to their main Guard and falling in with them at the same time so disordered them that they all began to shift for themselves wherein they were favoured by the Advantage of the Night yet many of them were made Prisoners and many killed many Horses and all their Artillery fell into the hands of ours The General as soon as he had refreshed his Men advanced towards that Body commanded by the Lord Goring which was much increased in Number by the Addition of those who escaped from Maidstone but not in Resolution being so discouraged with their Relation of what had passed there that immediately upon our Approach they began to retreat many of them running away to their own Habitations Notwithstanding this a considerable Body continuing with the Lord Goring he sent to the City of London desiring leave to march through the City into Essex designing to recruit his Men with such of that County as had lately expressed so much Affection to the King's Interest The City tho much inclined to have the King received upon Terms yet not willing absolutely to espouse the Cavalier Party especially in a flying Posture and considering that there was a great Number still amongst them who retained their Affection to the Publick Cause returned a positive Denial to Goring so that he was necessitated to make use of Boats or other means to transport his Men over the River into the County of Essex A Party of Horse was sent from the Army to keep a Guard at Bow-bridg as well to prevent the disaflected in the City from running to the Enemy as to hinder them from doing any thing to the prejudice of London Lieutenant General Cromwell with that part of the Army which was with him besieged the Castle and Town of Pembroke whither the principal of that Body which fled from St. Faggons had made their Retreat In the mean time the Presbyterian Party prevailing in the House by reason of the Absence of divers Members who belonged to the Army and were employed in all parts of the Nation discharged from Prison those who had been committed upon the account of that Force which was put upon the House by the late Tumults and the Parliament left to the Mercy of their Enemies with a very slender Guard The Lord Lisle's Commission to be Lord Lieutenant of Ireland expiring at the same time they refused to renew it by which means the Province of Munster fell into the hands of the Lord Inchequin as President who made use of the opportunity to displace those Officers that had been put in by the Lord Lisle preferring his own Creatures to their Employments to the great prejudice of the English Interest in that Country many others who were acquainted with his Temper and Principles quitted voluntarily and tho he still pretended Fidelity to the State of England yet he expressed himself dissatisfied with the Proceedings of the Army-Party towards him Some Overtures also he had received from the Irish touching an Accommodation but being straitned by them in his Quarters and therefore advancing with his Army towards them Col. Temple and some others yet remaining in his Army being willing to improve the occasion pressed him so hard to resolve to fight that he could not well avoid it At the beginning of the Battel the Success seemed to be very doubtful but in the end ours obtained the Victory some thousands of the Enemy being killed many made Prisoners and all their Baggage taken Not long after this he declared against the Parliament and joined with the Irish Rebels Some of the English Officers concurred with him in his Declaration many left him and came to the Parliament who made provision for them as they had done for those that came away before Tho this Conjunction of Inchequin was not concluded without the King's Consent yet it was not a proper season for him to condescend so far as they desired whereby great Divisions arose amongst them for there was a Party of Old Irish as they were called headed principally by Owen Roe O Neal of whom several were in the Supreme Council who out of an innate Hatred to the English Government joined with those who would be satisfied with nothing less than to have the Pope acknowledged to be their only Supreme Lord so that not being able to agree their Differences proved very serviceable to the English Interest The like Spirit of Division appeared amongst our Enemies in Scotland where tho the Number was great of those that professed their constant Adherence to their Engagements contained in the Covenant yet when it came to a Trial in their Convention the Anti-Covenanters who were for restoring the King without any Terms carried all before them So that instead of the Marquiss of Argile the Marquiss of Hamilton was appointed General of their Army all the inferiour Officers being of the same Mold and Principle insomuch that the Pulpits who before had proclaimed this War now accompanied the Army that was preparing to march with their Curses for tho they could have been contented that the Sectarian Party as they called it should be ruined provided they could find Strength enough to bring in the King themselves yet they feared their old Enemy more than their new one because the latter would only restrain them from lording it over them and others affording them equal Liberty with themselves whereas the former was so far from that as hardly to suffer them to be Hewers of Wood and Drawers of Water for those who would have all Power both Civil and Ecclesiastical put into one Hand could not possibly agree with such as would have it divided into many These Affairs necessitated the Parliament to raise the Militia in order to oppose this malevolent Spirit which threatned them from the North and also prevailed with them to discountenance a Charge of High Treason framed by Major Huntington an Officer of the Army with the Advice of some Members of both Houses against Lieutenant General Cromivell for endeavouring by betraying the King Parliament and
should detain us in the Field till Winter Their Counsels succeeded according to their Desires and our Army through hard Duty scarcity of Provisions and the Rigour of the Season grew very sickly and diminished daily so that they were necessitated to draw off to receive Supplies from our Shipping which could not come nearer to them than Dunbar distant from Edinburgh about twenty Miles The Enemy observing our Army to retire followed them close and falling upon our Rear-Guard of Horse in the Night having the Advantage of a clear Moon beat them up to our Rear-Guard of Foot Which Alarm coming suddenly upon our Men put them into some Disorder but a thick Cloud interposing in that very Moment and intercepting the Light of the Moon for about an Hour our Army took that Opportunity to secure themselves and arrived without any further disturbance at Dunbar where having shipped their heavy Baggage and sick Men they designed to return into England But the Enemies upon Confidence of Success had possessed themselves of all the Passes having in their Army about thirty thousand Horse and Foot and ours being reduced to ten Thousand at the most There was now no way left but to yield themselves Prisoners or to fight upon these unequal Terms In this Extremity a Council of War was called and after some Dispute it was agreed to fall upon the Enemy the next Morning about an Hour before Day and accordingly the several ' Regiments were ordered to their respective Posts Upon the first shock our Forlorn of Horse was somewhat disordered by their Lanciers but two of our Regiments of Foot that were in the Van behaved themselves so well that they not only sustained the Charge of the Enemies Horse but beat them back upon their own Foot and following them close forced both Horse and Foot to retreat up the Hill from whence they had attacked us The Body of the Enemies Army finding their Van-Guard which consisted of their choicest Men thus driven back upon them began to shift for themselves which they did with such Precipitation and Disorder that few of them ventured to look behind them till they arrived at Edinburgh taking no care of their King who made use of the same means to secure himself as his new Subjects had done One Party of their Horse made a stand till some of ours came up to them and then ran away after the rest of their Companions Many were killed upon the Place and many more in the Pursuit All their Baggage Arms Artillery and Ammunition fell into the hands of our Army Many also were taken and sent Prisoners into England When the first News of this great Victory was brought to London by Sir John Hipsley it was my Fortune with others of the Parliament to be with the Lord Fairfax at Hampton-Court who seemed much to rejoice at it But the Victory it self was not more welcome to me than the Contents of the General 's Letter to the Parliament wherein amongst many other Expressions savouring of a publick Spirit there was one to this effect That seeing the Lord upon this solemn Appeal made to him by the Scots and us had so signally given Judgment on our side when all hopes of Deliverance seemed to be cut off it became us not to do his Work negligently and from thence took occasion to put us in mind not to content our selves with the Name of a Commonwealth but to do real things for the Common Good and not to permit any Interest for their particular Advantage to prevail with us to the contrary Our Army in Scotland having received some Recruits advanced toward Edinburgh but the Enemy being informed of their March withdrew out of the Town and leaving a strong Garison in the Castle retreated towards Sterling The Parliament being very careful to supply their Armies with all things necessary caused great Quantities of Hay to be bought up in Norfolk and Suffolk which they sent by Sea to Scotland where it was absolutely necessary for the Scots Army had so strongly intrenched themselves by the Advantage of a Wood that ours could not possibly attack them without great Hazard and they were furnished with Provisions from Fife and the adjacent Parts which are the most fruitful in that Nation by means of the Bridg at Sterling whereas our Army which lay encamped near them had no other Country from whence they might draw Provisions but such as had been already in the Possession of the Enemy Besides that Hay is generally scarce in Scotland and that a great part of our Forces consisted of Horse Owen Roe O Neal who commanded the Old Northern Irish in vlster that had been principally concerned in the Massacre of the Protestants being dead the Popish Bishop of Cloghar undertook the Conduct of them and being grown considerably strong necessitated Sir Charles Coote to draw his Forces together to defend his Quarters which they designed to invade desperately resolving to put it to the issue of a Battel Their Foot was more numerous than ours but Sir Charles exceeded them in Horse The Dispute was hot for some time but at last the Irish were beaten tho not without Loss on our side Amongst others Col. Fenwick a brave and gallant Man was mortally wounded The Enemies Baggage and Train of Artillery was taken tho not many made Prisoners being for the most part put to the Sword with the Bishop of Cloghar their General whose Head was cut off and set upon one of the Gates of London derry The News of this Defeat being brought to those in Carlo who had held out in hopes of Relief from their Friends in vlster together with a great scarcity of Provisions in the Place besides the beating down of the little Castle that stood at the foot of the Bridg on the other side of the River which happened about the same time so discouraged those within that they surrendred the Place to the Lord Deputy Ireton upon Articles which he caused punctually to be executed as his constant manner was Pursuant to the Order of Parliament appointing me Lieutenant General of the Horse in Ireland the General as he was directed by the said Order sent me a Commission to that end which I received and gave him an Account of the Reception acquainting him also how sensible I was of my want of Experience to manage so weighty an Employment but that on the other hand I would not fail to endeavour to discharge my Duty with the utmost Fidelity He replied that I might rely upon that God to carry me through the Work who had called me to it and in the Close of his Letter recommended the procuring from the Parliament a Settlement upon Sir Hardress Waller of the Inheritance of some Lands which he then held by Lease from the Earl of Ormond and for which he paid two hundred Pounds annual Rent as a thing that might be proper for me to do before my Departure for Ireland I was afterwards informed that Sir Hardress