The Battle of Edgehill, 23rd October 1642
After Charles I raised the royal standard at Nottingham, he moved to Chester and then to Shrewsbury, gathering equipment and recruits as he went. Parliament, learning of the king's effective declaration of war against them, ordered the Earl of Essex north. Essex marched to Northampton, mustering some 20,000 men with which to confront the king, then headed north-west toward Worcester where Prince Rupert won a small skirmish with Essex's vanguard at Powick Bridge. The royalists withdrew from Worcester, consolidating their forces at Shrewsbury.
Early October saw the king leave Shrewsbury with the intention of marching upon London, reaching Edgcote and threatening Banbury by 22nd October. Essex, having just reached nearby Warwick Castle, began an immediate march to Kineton in response to requests for aid from the Banbury garrison. There were skirmishes that night and, the following morning, the king deployed his army across the escarpment of Edgehill. Essex's scouts reported that the Royalists were massed for battle nearby and so he abandoned his march to Banbury and deployed his own forces between Kineton and the king's army.
The armies deployed in the manner of the time, with infantry (or "foot") in the centre and cavalry ("horse") on the wings. Prince Rupert led the right wing of Royalist horse, with Sir Henry Wilmot and Lord Digby on the left and Sir Jacob Astley in command of the foot in the centre.
With no sign of aggression from Parliament, the Royalists descended the slope some time after noon. A desultory artillery barrage began as the Parliamentarians caught sight of the King's banner, although this had little effect.
The battle proper began as Rupert charged the Parliament left wing, shattering the loosely organised brigades of horse under Sir James Ramsay. Overrunning the supporting musketeers and guns, the Royalist horse pursued their broken foe from the field.
At roughly the same time, Wilmot and Digby charged on the Royalist left flank, driving back the outnumbered Parliament right wing under Feilding. Here, too, the Royalist horsemen became unmanageable, abandoning the field to fall on the Parliamentarian baggage at Kineton.
Early October saw the king leave Shrewsbury with the intention of marching upon London, reaching Edgcote and threatening Banbury by 22nd October. Essex, having just reached nearby Warwick Castle, began an immediate march to Kineton in response to requests for aid from the Banbury garrison. There were skirmishes that night and, the following morning, the king deployed his army across the escarpment of Edgehill. Essex's scouts reported that the Royalists were massed for battle nearby and so he abandoned his march to Banbury and deployed his own forces between Kineton and the king's army.
The armies deployed in the manner of the time, with infantry (or "foot") in the centre and cavalry ("horse") on the wings. Prince Rupert led the right wing of Royalist horse, with Sir Henry Wilmot and Lord Digby on the left and Sir Jacob Astley in command of the foot in the centre.
With no sign of aggression from Parliament, the Royalists descended the slope some time after noon. A desultory artillery barrage began as the Parliamentarians caught sight of the King's banner, although this had little effect.
The battle proper began as Rupert charged the Parliament left wing, shattering the loosely organised brigades of horse under Sir James Ramsay. Overrunning the supporting musketeers and guns, the Royalist horse pursued their broken foe from the field.
At roughly the same time, Wilmot and Digby charged on the Royalist left flank, driving back the outnumbered Parliament right wing under Feilding. Here, too, the Royalist horsemen became unmanageable, abandoning the field to fall on the Parliamentarian baggage at Kineton.
The Royalist foot, under Astley, pressed forward in the centre against the demoralised Parliament foot, some of whom had already fled after seeing their horse routed from the field. As he advanced, Astley muttered the famous prayer 'O Lord, thou knowest how busy I must be this day. If I forget thee, do not forget me,' before shouting 'March on, boys!'
As the infantry clashed, the brigades of Ballard and Meldrum stood firm against Astley's men, supported by the horse regiments of Stapleton and Balfour which appeared through the gaps in the Parliamentarian line to fall upon the Royalist foot. With their own cavalry support gone in pursuit of booty, the Royalist advance was first held and then driven back. As Charles, having sent his sons James and Charles to safety, sought to rally his disintegrating centre, elements of Balfour's contingent penetrated the Royalist positions, briefly overrunning the gun-line and capturing Colonels Feilding, Stradling and the C.O of the Bluecoats, Thomas Lunsford. When they retreated they left the King's Standard Bearer, Sir Edmund Verney, dead in their wake, Ensign Arthur Young bearing away the Royal Standard. The standard was recovered soon after by the returning Royalist horse, Captain John Smith later being knighted for his part in this. Legend has it that the severed hand of Sir Edmund Verney was still clasped tightly about the standard when it was returned to the king.
The fading light brought about a gradual cessation of hostilities, the freezing night air broken by the moans of the wounded who still lay on the cold, hard ground as darkness fell. Although both sides reformed the next morning, there was little appetite for a resumption of the fighting and, warily, the armies abandoned the field.
On the 25th, Rupert led a raid of horse and dragoons into Kineton where they plundered the remains of the Parliament baggage train and took or slew the wounded soldiers they found there. After withdrawing to Warwick Castle, Essex led his men to London, reaching the city before the slower moving army of the King which advanced via Oxford, Aylesbury and Reading, having taken Banbury. With Essex reinforced and London too heavily defended, the king withdrew to Oxford which would serve as his capital for the rest of the war.
As the infantry clashed, the brigades of Ballard and Meldrum stood firm against Astley's men, supported by the horse regiments of Stapleton and Balfour which appeared through the gaps in the Parliamentarian line to fall upon the Royalist foot. With their own cavalry support gone in pursuit of booty, the Royalist advance was first held and then driven back. As Charles, having sent his sons James and Charles to safety, sought to rally his disintegrating centre, elements of Balfour's contingent penetrated the Royalist positions, briefly overrunning the gun-line and capturing Colonels Feilding, Stradling and the C.O of the Bluecoats, Thomas Lunsford. When they retreated they left the King's Standard Bearer, Sir Edmund Verney, dead in their wake, Ensign Arthur Young bearing away the Royal Standard. The standard was recovered soon after by the returning Royalist horse, Captain John Smith later being knighted for his part in this. Legend has it that the severed hand of Sir Edmund Verney was still clasped tightly about the standard when it was returned to the king.
The fading light brought about a gradual cessation of hostilities, the freezing night air broken by the moans of the wounded who still lay on the cold, hard ground as darkness fell. Although both sides reformed the next morning, there was little appetite for a resumption of the fighting and, warily, the armies abandoned the field.
On the 25th, Rupert led a raid of horse and dragoons into Kineton where they plundered the remains of the Parliament baggage train and took or slew the wounded soldiers they found there. After withdrawing to Warwick Castle, Essex led his men to London, reaching the city before the slower moving army of the King which advanced via Oxford, Aylesbury and Reading, having taken Banbury. With Essex reinforced and London too heavily defended, the king withdrew to Oxford which would serve as his capital for the rest of the war.
However, this was not to be the end of the Battle of Edgehill - if contemporary reports are to be believed. One night, just before Christmas 1642, some shepherds from Kineton were terrified when they heard the sound of drums, accompanied by screams, shouts, gunshots and other sounds of battle. They were then to witness a full re-enactment of the battle in the winter sky. This continued for several nights, prompting the printing of a leaflet entitled 'A Great Wonder in Heaven' and the dispatch of a Royal commission to investigate the strange goings-on. The commission were able to report back to the king that they, too, had witnessed the phantom battle, even being able to identify some of the protagonists including Sir Edmund Verney.
Today, much of the battlefield is covered by an army base, though there are still the occasional reports of disquieting events. Guard dogs will not patrol certain areas of the camp around the anniversary of the battle. Several years ago, two newly arrived soldiers on sentry duty were forced to retreat to their guardroom one winter's night, disturbed by the sounds of battle from the fields around them, and there
are more recent reports of people being jostled by unseen assailants as they walk in the lanes around the site.....
Today, much of the battlefield is covered by an army base, though there are still the occasional reports of disquieting events. Guard dogs will not patrol certain areas of the camp around the anniversary of the battle. Several years ago, two newly arrived soldiers on sentry duty were forced to retreat to their guardroom one winter's night, disturbed by the sounds of battle from the fields around them, and there
are more recent reports of people being jostled by unseen assailants as they walk in the lanes around the site.....