occasion commanded us to wheel about but our Gentlemen not yet well understanding the difference between wheeling about and shifting for themselves their Backs being now towards the Enemy whom they thought to be close in the Rear retired to the Army in a very dishonourable manner and the next Morning rallied at the Head-quarters where we received but cold Welcome from the General as we well deserved The Night following the Enemy left Worcester and retreated to Shrewsbery where the King was upon which the Earl of Essex advanced to Worcester where he continued with the Army for some time expecting an Answer to a Message sent by him to the King from the Parliament inviting him to return to London This Time the King improved to compleat and arm his Men which when he had effected he began his March the Earl of Essex attending him to observe his Motions and after a day or two on Sunday Morning the 23d of October 1642. our Scouts brought advice that the Enemy appeared and about nine a Clock some of their Troops were discovered upon Edge-hill in Warwickshire Upon this our Forces who had been order'd that Morning to their Quarters to refresh themselves having had but little Rest for eight and forty Hours were immediately countermanded The Enemy drew down the Hill and we into the Field near Keinton The best of our Field-pieces were planted upon our right Wing guarded by two Regiments of Foot and some Horse Our General having commanded to fire upon the Enemy it was done twice upon that part of the Army wherein as it was reported the King was The great Shot was exchanged on both sides for the space of an hour or thereabouts By this time the Foot began to engage and a Party of the Enemy being sent to line some Hedges on our right Wing thereby to beat us from our Ground were repulsed by our Dragoons without any Loss on our side The Enemy's Body of Foot wherein the King's Standard was came on within Musquet-shot of us upon which we observing no Horse to encounter withal charged them with some Loss from their Pikes tho very little from their Shot but not being able to break them we retreated to our former Station whither we were no sooner come but we perceived that those who were appointed to guard the Artillery were marched off and Sir Philip Stapylton our Captain wishing for a Regiment of Foot to secure the Cannon we promised to stand by him in defence of them causing one of our Servants to load and level one of them which he had scarce done when a Body of Horse appeared advancing towards us from that side where the Enemy was We fired at them with Case-shot but did no other Mischief save only wounding one Man through the Hand our Gun being overloaded and planted on high Ground which sell out very happily this Body of Horse being of our own Army and commanded by Sir William Balfour who with great Resolution had charged into the Enemy's Quarters where he had nailed several pieces of their Cannon and was then retreating to his own Party of which the Man who was shot in the Hand was giving us notice by holding it up but we did not discern it The Earl of Essex order'd two Regiments of Foot to attack that Body which we had charged before where the King's Standard was which they did but could not break them till Sir William Balfour at the head of a Party of Horse charging them in the Rear and we marching down to take them in Flank they brake and ran away towards the Hill Many of them were killed upon the place amongst whom was Sir Edward Varney the King's Standard-bearer who as I have heard from a Person of Honour engaged on that side not out of any good opinion of the Cause but from the Sense of a Duty which he thought lay upon him in respect of his Relation to the King Mr. Herbert of Glamorganshire Lieutenant Colonel to Sir Edward Stradling's Regiment was also killed with many others that fell in the Pursuit Many Colours were taken and I saw Lieutenant Colonel Middleton then a Resormade in our Army displaying the King's Standard which he had taken but a Party of Horse coming upon us we were obliged to retire with our Standard and having brought it to the Earl of Essex he delivered it to the Custody of one Mr. Chambers his Secretary from whom it was taken by one Captain Smith who with two more disguising themselves with Orange-colour'd Scarfs the Earl of Essex's Colour and pretending it unfit that a Penman should have the Honour to carry the Standard took it from him and rode with it to the King for which Action he was knighted Retreating towards our Army I fell in with a body of the King's Foot as I soon perceived but having passed by them undiscovered I met with Sir William Balfour's Troop some of whom who knew me not would have fired upon me supposing me to be an Enemy had they not been prevented and assured of the contrary by Mr. Francis Russell who with ten Men well mounted and armed which he maintained rode in the Life-Guard and in the heat of the pursuit had lost sight of them as I my self had also done I now perceived no other Engagement on either side only a few great Guns continued to fire upon us from the Enemy but towards the close of the Day we discovered a body of Horse marching from our Rear on the left of us under the Hedges which the Life Guard whom I had then found having discovered to be the Enemy and resolving to charge them sent to some of our Troops that stood within Musquet-shot of us to second them which tho they refused to do and we had no way to come at them but through a Gap in the Hedg we advanced towards them and falling upon their Rear killed divers of them and brought off some Arms. In which Attempt being dismounted I could not without great difficulty recover on Horse-back again being loaded with Cuirassiers Arms as the rest of the Guard also were This was the Right Wing of the King's Horse commanded by Prince Rupert who taking advantage of the Disorder that our own Horse had put our Foot into who had opened their Ranks to secure them in their Retreat pressed upon them with such Fury that he put them to flight And if the time which he spent in pursuing them too far and in plundering the Wagons had been employed in taking such Advantages as offered themselves in the place where the Fight was it might have proved more serviceable to the carrying on of the Enemy's Designs The Night after the Battle our Army quartered upon the same Ground that the Enemy sought on the day before No Man nor Horse got any Meat that Night and I had touched none since the Saturday before neither could I find my Servant who had my Cloak so that having nothing to keep me warm but a Sute of Iron
any Design they might have upon the City or Places adjacent To prevent which our General caused a Bridg of Boats to be laid over the River between Putney and Battersey which was no sooner finished but the Enemy retired to Oxford by the way of Reading which Place they fortified and placed a Garison therein a Party of ours having quitted it upon their Approach Garisons were also placed by them in the Towns of Newcastle upon Tyne Chester Worcester and several others as they had done before in York and Shrewsbery Some of ours likewise had possessed themselves of Glocester Bristol Exeter Southampton Dover and divers other Places The Enemy being retired our Army advanced to Windsor and made it our Head-quarters for the most part of that Winter and so desirous was the Parliament to prevent any further Effusion of Blood that notwithstanding the treacherous Design of the late Expedition they again sent Propositions of Peace to the King at Oxford being the same in effect with those delivered to him before at York but they sound no better Reception than the others had done I do not remember any thing remarkable perform'd by either Party this Winter save only an Attempt of the Enemy upon one of our Quarters at Henly where two Regiments of Foot one of which was Major General Skippon's then were who being tired with a long March and dispersed to their respective Quarters were fallen upon by a great body of the Enemy that had advanced to the Town 's end undiscovered but a small Party of our Men getting together one of our Gunners hastned to the Artillery which was planted upon the Avenue fired once or twice upon them and made so great a Slaughter especially of those Officers who were at the head of their Party that they retreated in great Disorder without any farther Attempt Our General having notice that the Enemy had a Design upon Bristol sent a Party commanded by Colonel Nathanael Fines to reinforce that Garison by which means it was prevented and some of their Correspondents in the Town thereupon executed About this time Sir Edward Hungerford having obtained the Command of the Forces in the County of Wilts for the Parliament invited me to raise a Troop of Horse in his Regiment in order to which I attended him at the Devizes and from thence went with him to Salisbury where he seized some quantity of Horse and Arms from Persons disafsected and with them mounted and armed part of his Men. And I having done what was convenient at that time for the raising of my Troop returned to the Head-quarters at Windsor where I gave them an account of the good Condition of Colonel Fines and Sir Edward Hungerford at which they were not a little surprized having been made to believe that they and their Troops were routed and cut in pieces by the Enemy Sir Ralph Hopton Sir Bevil Greenvil and others were very active in raising Forces for the King in Cornwall and the remote parts of Devonshire and had possessed themselves of Pendennis Dartmouth and Barnstaple as Colonel Ashburnham and others had done of Weymouth in Dorsetshire And the Parliament had ordered Garisons to be put into Plymouth Lyme and Pool In the Spring our Army was Master of the Field the King making it his business to be only upon the defensive till the Queen should arrive in England with an Army to his Assistance hoping to exhaust the Treasure of the City of London by Delays and thereby to cause them to abate their Zeal for the Publick omitting no opportunity by his Emissaries to create and foment Differences amongst them endeavouring by all means to procure an Insurrection for him to compel the Parliament to submit to such terms as he pleased to impose The Earl of Essex marched with the Army to besiege Reading a Frontier Town of the King 's which he had strongly fortify'd and garison'd The General himself sat down on the Northwest side and the Lord Grey of Wark on the South-east side of the Town the great Shot did some Damage to the Houses from one of which a Tile salling upon the Head of Sir Arthur Ashton a Papist and Governour thereof disabled him from executing that Charge during the rest of the Siege and Colonel Fielding was made Governour in his room The King thinking this Place to be of great Importance to him brought together all the Forces he could and marching on Cansam-side in order to relieve it was opposed by a small Party of ours who taking the advantage of some Ditches and Pales to shelter themselves repulsed his Men and forced him to retreat to Oxsord Upon this the Town was surrendred upon Articles to the Earl of Essex Colonel Fielding the Governour retiring to Oxford where he was tried and condemned to die but not executed At my coming into Wiltshire with three more of the Life-Guard two whereof were to be Officers in my Troop and the third in another Troop of the same Regiment I found Sir Edward Hungerford with the Forces of Wilts and Colonel Stroud with part of those of Somersetshire besieging Warder-Castle before which they had been about a week battering it with two small Pieces whereby they had done little other hurt save only to a Chimney-piece by a Shot entring at a Window But there being a Vault on each side of the Castle for the conveying away of Filth two or three Barrels of Powder were put into one of them and being fired blew up some part of it which with the grazing of a Bullet upon the Face of one of the Servants and the threatning of the Besiegers to spring the other Mine and then to storm it if it was not surrendrcd before an Hour-glass which they had turn'd up was run out so terrified the Ladies therein whereof there was a great Number that they agreed to surrender it The Government of this Castle was entrusted to my care by Sir Edward Hungerford who left with me a Company of Foot commanded by Captain Bean and my own Troop to defend it The Earl of Marlborough with some Horse possessed himself of a House in our Neighbourhood called Fount-hill with a Design to block us up but Sir Edward sent a party of Horse who fell upon him there and obliged him to quit it I levelled the Works that had been raised during the Siegc sunk a Well broke down the Vaults about the Castle and furnished it with Provisions expecting to be besieged as I was soon after For within a Fortnight after I was possessed of it the Lord Arundel to whom it belonged and whose Father died soon after he had received News that it was taken supposing to find me unprovided came with a Party of Horse and summoned me to deliver the Place for his Majesty's Use. Some who were with me advised me so to do yet I return'd the Enemy answer That I was entrusted to keep the Castle for the Service of the Parliament and could not surrender it without their Command
Parliament who being encompassed with Difficulties on all hands and understanding that the Queen was landing with a considerable Strength at Bridlington-Bay in the County of York sent Commissioners to treat with their Friends in Scotland to march into England to their Assistance In the mean timethe King's Army besieged the City of Glocester the King being there in Person to countenance the Siege The Besieged made a vigorous Defence for about a Month during which the Parliament took care to recruit their Army in order to relieve them Their Rendezvouz was appointed on Hounslow-heath whither some Members of Parliament of which my Father was one were sent to inspect their Condition that their Wants being known might be the better supplied who found them a very shatter'd and broken Body but the City being then very affectionate to the Publick soon recruited them and drew forth so many of their Trained Bands and Auxiliary Regiments as made them up a gallant Army In their March towards Glocester some of ours fell upon a Party of the Enemy at Cirencester of whom they took many Prisoners and seized a great quantity of Provisions which they found prepared for the Enemy who upon our Approach raised the Siege The Earl of Essex having relieved the Town was marching back again when he perceived the Enemy endeavouring to get between him and London and to that end falling upon his Rear with a strong Party of Horse they so disordered his Men and retarded the March of his Army that he sound himself obliged to engage them at Newbury The Dispute was very hot on both sides and the Enemy had the better at the first but our Men resolving to carry their point and the city-City-Regiments behaving themselves with great Bravery gave them before Night so little cause to boast that the next Morning they were willing to permit the Earl of Essex to march to London without interruption Few Prisoners were taken on either side The Enemy had several Persons of Quality killed the principal of whom were the Earl of Carnarvan the Earl of Sunderland the Lord Falkland and a French Marquiss We lost a Colonel of one of the city-City-Regiments together with some inferiour Officers Some of the Lords and Commons contrary to their Duty withdrew themselves from the Parliament at Westminster and went to the King at Oxford where they met together but never did any thing considerable for the King's Service and shewed themselves so little willing to assume the name of a Parliament that the King in a Letter to the Queen a Copy whereof was afterwards found amongst his Papers called them his Mongrel Parliament In the mean time the Earl of Manchester received a Commission from the Parliament to raise Forces in the associated Counties of Suffolk Norfolk Essex Cambridg Huntington c. which was very necessary for the King was Master of all Places of Strength from Berwick to Boston except Hull and two small Castles in Lincolnshire and Ferdinando Lord Fairfax not able to keep the Field against the Earl of Newcastle was retired with his Horse and Foot to Hull the Enemies Strength in the North no way inferiour to what it was in the West and none considerable enough to oppose their March into the South The Earl of Newcastle upon advice that the Lord Willoughby of Parham had possessed himself of the Town of Gainsborough for the Parliament sent his Brother Col. Cavendish Lieutenant General of his Army with a great Party of Horse and Dragoons to summon it himself marching after with the Foot Col. Oliver Cromwell having notice thereof and understanding by fresh Experience that Victory is not always obtained by the greater Number having lately defeated near Grantham twenty four Troops of the Enemies Horse and Dragoons with seven Troops only which he had with him resolved to endeavour the Relief of Gainsborough and with twelve Troops of Horse and Dragoons marched thither where he found the Enemy who were drawn up near the Town to be more than thrice his Number and no way to attack them but through a Gate and up-hill notwithstanding which Disadvantages he adventured to fall upon them and after some Dispute totally routed them killing many of their Officers and amongst them Lieutenant General Cavendish Thus was Gainsborough relieved but the Conquerors had little time to rejoice for within two or three hours the routed Enemy rallying and joining with the rest of Newcastle's Army marched against them Upon which they retreated to Lincoln that night in good order and without any Loss facing the Enemy with three Troops at a time as they drew off the rest Lincoln not being defensible Col. Cromwell marched the next day to Boston that he might join the Earl of Manchester who with his new-rais'd Forces had very seasonably reduced Lynn a Town in Norfolk not far from the Sea naturally strong and might have proved impregnable if Time had favoured Art and Industry to have fortified and furnished it with Provisions But Sir Hammond Lestrange who had before surprized it for the King was soon surprized himself and being suddenly summoned by the Earl of Manchester and threatned with a Storm after he had fired a few great Shot against the Besiegers thought fit to surrender it upon Articles From thence the Earl of Manchester marched to Boston where being joined by Col. Cromwell appointed by the Parliament to command under him and a Party of Horse brought by Sir Thomas Fairfax by Sea from Hull he mustered about six thousand Foot and thirty seven Troops of Horse and Dragoons To prevent any further addition to his Forces the Earl of Newcastle advanced with his Army and sent a strong Detachment of Horse and Dragoons towards Boston appearing by their Standards to be eighty seven Troops commanded by Sir John Henderson an old Souldier who hearing that Col. Cromwell was drawn out towards him with the Horse and Dragoons made haste to engage him before the Earl of Manchester with the Foot could march up as accordingly it fell out at a place called Winsby-field near Horn-castle In the first shock Col. Cromwell had his Horse kill'd under him yet the Encounter was but short tho very sharp for there being Field-room enough the Fight lasted but a quarter of an hour before the Earl of Newcastle's Forces were totally routed and many of them killed amongst them the Lord Widdrington Sir Ingram Hopton and other Persons of Quality The Enemy had no time to rally being pursued by ours almost as far as Lincoln which was fourteen Miles off in which Pursuit divers of them were killed and made Prisoners and many Horse and Arms taken Neither were they suffered to rest at Lincoln the Earl of Manchester marching thither the day following where the Enemies broken Troops had endeavoured to fortisy the higher part of the City called the Close but had not quite finished their Works when the Earl arrived and summoned them to surrender which they resusing our Foot and Horse fell on and took it
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
view of the Place lest we should give occasion to the Enemy to suspect our Design The way hither from our Camp was so full of Bogs that neither Horse nor Man could pass without great Danger so that we were necessitated to mend them by laying Hurdles and great pieces of Timber a-cross in order to bear our Carriages which we did under pretence of making a passable way between our Camp and Castle-Conel a Garison of ours where Provisions were laid up for the Army It was about ten days before all things necessary to this Design could be prepared and then Col. Reeves was commanded to bring three Boats which he had to a place appointed for that purpose by one a Clock in the Morning At the beginning of the Night three Regiments of Foot and one of Horse with four Pieces of Cannon marched silently towards the place where the Boats were ordered to lie and arrived there an hour before day They found but two Boats waiting for them yet they served to carry over three Files of Musqueteers and six Troopers who having unsaddled their Horses caused them to swim by the Boat and were safely landed on the other side Two Sentinels of the Enemy were in the Castle of whom one was killed by our Men and the other made his Escape Our Boats had transported about sixty Foot and twenty Horse before any Enemy appeared but then some of their Horse coming up skirmished with ours wherein one Mr. How a hopeful daring young Gentleman who had accompanied me into Ireland distinguished himself About a thousand of the Enemies Foot advancing our Horse was commanded to retire which they did not without some Reluctancy but the hasty March of their Foot was retarded by our Guns which we had planted on a Hill on our side of the River from whence we fired so thick upon them that they were forced to retreat under the shelter of a rising Ground where after they had been a while and considered what to do finding ours coming over apace to them instead of attacking us they began to think it high time to provide against our falling upon them and having sent to all their Guards upon the River to draw off they retreated farther through the Woods into their own Quarters We were no sooner got over the River but we received advice that Sir Charles Coote and Commissary General Reynolds were entred into Connaught and advanced as far as Athenree Our Ships were also come up the River of Limerick with our Artillery Ammunition Provisions and all things necessary for the Siege of Limerick And now the Deputy thinking himself abundantly provided for the Reduction of that important Place and not knowing what Necessities the Party with Sir Charles Coote might be driven to the chief of the Enemies Strength being drawn that way he resolved to send a Party of Horse to him But not being able to spare above a thousand Horse for that Service he was unwilling to desire me to command them tho he had no Person with him that he could conveniently make use of therein most of the Colonels of Horse being employed in their respective Precincts to secure them from the Incursions of the Enemies This I perceived and offered to match with them whereupon the Deputy furnished me with three Majors who were Majors Warden of my own Regiment of Horse Major Owen of the Regiment of Commissary General Reynolds and Major Bolâ—â—n of a Regiment of Dragoons a brave and diligent Officer We began our March about five in the Afternoon and by twelve at Night having marched between sixteen and seventeen Miles we dismounted to forage our Horses and rest our selves Before day we mounted and continued our March through a desolate Country the People being fled and no Provisions to be had but what we carried with us About ten in the Morning our Forlorn perceived a Creaght as the Country People call it where half a dozen Families with their Cattle were got together Some of those who saw them first presuming all the Irish in that Country to be Enemies began to kill them of which having notice I put a stop to it and took a share with them of a Pot of sowr Milk which seemed to me the most pleasant Liquor that ever I drank In the Afternoon we found the ways exceeding bad and almost impassable many of the Hurdles which had been laid upon them being drawn away as we supposed by the Enemy yet in a little more than twenty four hours we had marched about forty Miles and were informed that Sir Charles Coote was besieging Portumna a House of the Earl of Clanrickard and that the Enemies were about Athenree Upon this notice leaving my Party advantageously posted in a Place furnished with Provisions for themselves and Horses I took with me sixty Horse and went to Portumna to be informed more particularly concerning the State of Affairs At my Arrival I understood that an Attempt had been made upon the Place wherein our Men had been repulsed but that the Enemy having a large Line to keep and many poor People within fearing to hazard another Assault had agreed to surrender upon Articles next Morning which was done accordingly And now having found Sir Charles Coote's Party in good condition and able to deal with the Enemies on that side I returned to my Body of Horse with which and five hundred more that joined me commanded by Commissary General Reynolds I followed and endeavoured to find out the Enemy but they removed from one Place to another with such Expedition that we could not overtake them having left their Carriages in order to march the lighter at a Castle belonging to one Mr. Brabston situated upon a considerable Pass This Place I endeavoured to reduce and tho it was indifferently strong and we very ill provided for such an Attempt yet after some Resistance the Enemies delivered it upon Articles whereby they were permitted to carry off whatsoever belonged properly to them the Tents and Draught-Oxen remaining in our possession with several other things belonging to the Earl of Clanrickard whom the Earl of Ormond had constituted his Deputy in those Parts Having put a Garison into this Place and sent back Commissary General Reynolds with his Party to Portumna I marched with my Horse towards Limerick and came to Gourtenshegore a Castle belonging to Sir Dermot O Shortness who was then gone to Galway but had left his Tenants with some Souldiers and one Foliot an English Man to command them in the Castle At my coming before it I summoned them to submit offering them that in case they would dismiss their Souldiers and promise to live quietly in the obedience of the Parliament I would leave no Garison in the Place nor suffer any Prejudice to be done to them They pretending they had already submitted to Sir Charles Coote refused to deliver the Castle to any other Tho I took this to be only a pretence yet to leave them without excuse and to
Clothes or Food he used what Hour he went to rest or what Horse he mounted In the mean time our Army in Scotland lying near the Enemies Camp at Torwood who were plentifully furnished with Provisions from the County of Fife it was resolved that a Party of ours commanded by Colonel Overton should be sent in Boats from Leith and Edinburgh into that County to contrive some way to prevent the Enemies Supplies from thence This Party was followed by four Regiments of Horse and Foot commanded by Major General Lambert Of which the Enemy having notice sent Sir John Brown who was esteemed to be a Person of Courage and Conduct with part of their Army to oppose them It was not long before the two Parties came to an Engagement wherein the Enemy was totally routed Sir John Brown who commanded them with about two thousand of his Men killed many made Prisoners and all their Baggage taken The Scots being deprived of their usual Supplies from Fife and not expecting any from foreign Parts by reason of the number of our Ships cruizing on their Coast resolved to march into England having received Encouragement so to do from their old and new Friends there They passed the River Tweed near Carlisle there being a strong Garison in Berwick for the Parliament and were considerably advanced on their March before our Army in Scotland were acquainted with their Design Major General Harrison with about four thousand Horse and Foot somewhat obstructed their March tho he was not considerable enough to fight them and being joined by Major General Lambert with a Party of Horse from the Army they observed the Enemy so closely as to keep them from Excursions and to prevent others from joining with them The Scots who were in great expectation of Assistance from Wales and relied much upon Col. Massey's Interest in Glocestershire advanced that way Few of the Country came in to them but on the other side so affectionate were the People to the Common-wealth that they brought in Horse and Foot from all Parts to assist the Parliament Insomuch that their Number was by many thought sufficient to have beaten the Enemy without the Assistance of the Army some even of the excluded Members appearing in Arms and leading Regiments against the Common Enemy At the same time upon notice that the Earl of Derby was at the Head of fifteen hundred Horse and Foot in Lancashire Col. Liburn was sent that way with about eight hundred Men who meeting with the Earl's Forces near Wigan after a sharp Dispute for about an hour totally routed them The Number of the Slain was considerable on the Enemies side The Lord Widdrington with other Persons of Quality were killed All their Baggage was taken and three or four hundred made Prisoners with the Loss only of one Officer and about ten private Souldiers of Col. Lilburn's The Earl of Derby himself was wounded and escaped to Worcester but bringing not above thirty tired Horse with him the Townsmen began to repent their Revolt from the Parliament The Scots having possessed themselves of the City of Worcester and fortified it as well as they could in so short a time resolved to attack our Army which was now advanced to that Place and posted on each side of the Severn ready to receive them with General Cromwell at their Head Their first Attack was made upon Lieutenant General Fleetwood's Quarters that were on the other side of the River who with some Forces of the Army and a Reinforcement of the Militia made a vigorous Resistance The General fearing he might be overpower'd dispatch'd some Troops to his Assistance by a Bridg laid over the River commanding Major General Lambert to send another Detachment to the same purpose but he desired to be excused alledging that if the Enemy should alter their Course and fall upon those on this side they might probably cut off all that remained which was not unlikely for soon after most of the Enemies Strength fell upon that part of the Army where the General and Major General Lambert were The Battel was sought with various Success for a considerable time but at length the Scots Army was broken and quitting their Ground retreated in great Disorder to the Town where they endeavoured to defend themselves Major General Harrison Col. Croxton and the Forces of Cheshire entred the Place at their heels and being followed by the rest of the Army soon finished the Dispute and totally defeated the Enemy Three English Earls seven Scots Lords and above six hundred Officers besides ten thousand private Souldiers were made Prisoners The King's Standard and a hundred fifty eight Colours with all their Artillery Ammunition and Baggage was also taken On our side Quarter-master General Mosely and Capt. Jones with about a hundred private Souldiers were killed and Capt. Howard with one Captain more and about three hundred Souldiers wounded This Victory was obtained by the Parliament's Forces on the 3 d of September being the same Day of the same Month that the Scots had been defeated at Dunbar the preceding Year Col. Massey escaped into Leicestershire but being dangerously wounded found himself not able to continue his way and fearing to be knock'd on the head by the Country delivered himself to the Countess of Stamford Mother to the Lord Grey of Grooby who caused his Wounds to be carefully dressed and sent notice of his Surrender to the Army Whereupon a Party was dispatched with Orders to conduct him from thence to London as soon as he should be fit to travel which was done and he committed Prisoner to the Tower The Scots King with the Lord Wilmot were concealed by three Country-men till they could furnish him with a Horse with which he crossed the Country to one Mr. Gunter's near Shoreham in Sussex carrying one Mrs. Lane behind him from whence in a small Bark he escaped to France The General after this Action which he called the Crowning Victory took upon him a more stately Behaviour and chose new Friends neither must it be omitted that instead of acknowledging the Services of those who came from all Parts to assist against the Common Enemy tho he knew they had deserved as much Honour as himself and the standing Army he srowned upon them and the very next day after the Fight dismissed and sent them home well knowing that a useful and experienced Militia was more likely to obstruct than to second him in his ambitious Designs Being on his way to London many Members of the Parliament attended by the City and great numbers of Persons of all Orders and Conditions went some Miles out of the Town to meet him which tended not a little to heighten the Spirit of this haughty Gentleman Lieutenant General Monk whom the General had raised to that Employment and ordered to command in Scotland during his Absence took Sterling-Castle and then marched with about four thousand Horse and Foot before Dundee But being advised that General Lesley the Earl of
and the other being very much shatter'd sunk down as our Men were carrying her off The Council of State having received an Account of this Action made their Report of it to the Parliament who passed a Vote for the justification of General Blake and resolving to have Satisfaction for this Assault placed a Guard upon the Dutch Ambassadors at their Lodgings in Chelsey and sent General Cromwell and Mr. Denis Bond a Member of Parliament down to the Fleet with Assurances that nothing should be wanting for their Encouragement The Event of this Undertaking not answering the Expectations of the Hollanders serving only to provoke the English Nation and to publish their own Dishonour they endeavoured to make the World as well as the Parliament believe that the Quarrel was begun by General Blake or at least that what had been done was not by their Orders and therefore desired that the Treaty might go on and that the Prisoners taken in the late Fight might be restored To this end they sent over the Heer Paw of Heemsted to carry on the Treaty in conjunction with the Ambassadors they had sent before into England This Minister was received with all the usual Demonstrations of Honour and being admitted to Audience pressed for an Accommodation of all Differences and a Cessation of all Acts of Hostility between the two Nations assuring the Parliament that his Masters had given Orders to their Ships to strike to the English Flag in the same manner as had been practised in former times But being demanded to shew his Powers he produced nothing save Letters of Credence and Passports referring himself to the other Ambassadors in that Point with whom he made some General Propositions to the Parliament and desired them to declare their Demands By these Proceedings of the Dutch the Parliament perceiving that this Difference was not like to be decided by a Treaty contented themselves to require Satisfaction for the Injuries received and Assurance that nothing of that nature should be attempted for the future which if the Ambassadors would consent to they declared themselves ready to proceed in the Treaty and to grant a Cessation of Arms. But so little were they disposed to give the Satisfaction demanded that they made no farther mention of the Cessation which they had so earnestly pressed and having taken their Audience of Leave they broke off the Treaty abruptly and returned home In Ireland tho the Number of those that submitted on condition to be transported into foreign Service was so great that they became a great Burden to us before we could procure Shipping for their Transportation and tho the Enemy had received several Defeats by our Forces during the Winter wherein many of them had been killed and taken yet they continued to make Incursions into our Quarters carrying away Cattel and other Booty and having lately seized upon the Horses belonging to two Troops of Dragoons they were so encouraged that Sir Walter Dungan Commissary General of the Enemies Horse and Capt. Scurlock a forward Officer and one who had done us much Mischief with five hundred Foot and two hundred and fifty Horse marched into Wexford with a Design to plunder that County Lieutenant Colonel Throgmorton who commanded in those Parts having informed us of their March we sent two Troops of Horse to his Assistance who with them and about four hundred Foot charged the Enemy upon their Return and after some Dispute routed them killing two hundred of them upon the Place and many more with divers Officers in the Pursuit besides several of the Irish taken Prisoners with the Loss of about twenty killed and a hundred wounded on our side The Booty which the Enemy had gotten consisting chiefly in five hundred Cows was all recovered The Season of Action advancing the Commissioners of Parliament went to Kilkenny as well to confer with the Officers from all Parts of Ireland as to make the necessary Preparations for the ensuing Service of which the Earl of Westmeath who commanded the Enemies Forces in Leinster having notice sent to desire a safe Conduct for Commissioners to be named by them to treat with us at Kilkenny on their behalf which being granted they appointed Commissary General Dungan Lewis Viscount of Glanmaliere Sir Robert Talbot Sir Richard Barnwel Col. Walter Bagnol Col. Lewis Moor and Col. Thomas Tyrrell to be their Commissioners And on our part Commissary General Reynolds Col. Hewetson Col. Lawrence Col. Axtel Adjutant General Allen Major Henry Owen and Mr. James Standish Deputy-Treasurer of the Army were commissionated to treat and conclude with them in conformity to such Instructions as they received from a General Council and after several days Conference the Commissioners on each part came to an Agreement upon Terms that were the same in substance with those formerly granted to Col. Edmund Odonryer and his Party with liberty left for the Lord Muskerry Major General Taaf and other Commanders of the Irish in the Provinces of Mâ—nster Connaught and Vlster yet in Arms to come in and accept of the same Conditions within a limited time The Articles were approved by the Earl of Westmeath on the behalf of the Irish and on the part of the Commonwealth of England by Me as Commander in chief of their Forces in Ireland In the mean time the Committee appointed by the Parliament for the Reformation of the Law in England made a considerable progress in that matter Judges were also sent into Scotland for the Administration of Justice there which they performed to the great satisfaction of that People The Parliament also appointed a Committee to consider of means to set at work all the Poor throughout the Nation and to make Provision for such as were not able to work that there might be no Beggar in England In Scotland our Forces having reduced the Castle of Dunotter which was the last Garison of that Nation that held out against the Parliament of England it was resolved to make four considerable Forts one at Inverness another at Leith a third at Ayre and a fourth at St. Johnstoâ—n and because the Enemy being entirely beaten out of the Field was retired to the mountainous Parts which to that time had been accounted inaccessible by the English it was agreed to endeavour to clear those Places of them also being perswaded that where any went before others might follow after To this end our Men were divided into three Parties the first consisted of Colonel Overcon's Regiment of Foot and a Regiment of Horse commanded by Major Blackmore The second of Colonel Hacker's Regiment of Horse and one of Foot commanded by Colonel Lilburn and the third was composed of the Regiment of Horse of Major General Dean and of a Regiment of Foot belonging to Lieutenant General Monk Each of these having a Party of Dragoons to attend them rendezvouzed at Loughaber and from thence fell separately into the Enemy's Quarters where they killed many of them and burned their Provisions pursuing them so
purpose Commissioners were appointed on both Parts to treat The Articles were the same in effect with those granted to the Irish in Leinster and other Places But much time was spent in the discussion of some Particulars especially that concerning the Murder of the English which was an Exception we never failed to make so that the Irish Commissioners seeming doubtful whether by the wording that Article they were not all included desired that it might be explained to which we consented and it was accordingly done They also made it their Request that instead of that Article relating to their real Estates whereby they were to enjoy such a part as should be allotted to them by the Qualifications to be agreed upon it might be expressed that they wholly submitted to the Mercy of the Parliament therein The Exercise also of their Religion was earnestly insisted upon by them but we refused to oblige our selves to any thing in that Particular declaring only that it was neither the Principle or Practice of the Authority which we served to impose their way of Worship upon any by violent means With these Explanations the Commissioners after a Fortnight's Debate concluded the Agreement the Lord Muskerry and my self confirming it his Son with Sir Daniel Obryan were delivered to me as Hostages for the performance of the Articles in consequence of which about five thousand Horse and Foot laid down their Arms and surrendred their Horses Whilst this was doing in Munster Col. Grace with some Forces that had not submitted passed the Shannon and being joined by many of the Irish of Connaught and Galway began to grow considerable being about three thousand most of them Foot Col. Ingoldsby having notice of them drew together a Party about Limerick and marching with them to find out the Enemy attacked them at a Pass which they disputed for some time but our Horse breaking in upon some of their Foot and encouraging the rest to fall on the Irish quitted their Post and shifted for themselves In this Action many of them were killed and taken Prisoners the rest escaping to the Bogs and Woods After this Defeat Col. Grace and his Party was forced to submit and to that end treated with Col. Zanchey but found that his obstinate Resistance so long had done him no Service for Col. Zanchey upon the Surrender of Inch to him and the Submission of Col. Grace's Forces caused a Captain a Lieutenant and a Serjeant with other Officers to be shot to death for revolting at Carrick to the Enemy according to the Liberty he had reserved to himself in that case by the Capitulation In the North of Ireland Col. Theophilus Jones being sent out with seven Troops of Horse one of Dragoons and three hundred Foot to get Provisions for the Relief of those Parts met with a Party of the Enemy consisting of sixteen hundred Foot and three hundred Horse whom he charged and after a sharp Dispute routed and put to flight killing many of their Officers and three hundred Souldiers upon the Place All the Arms of their Foot were taken and a hundred and fifty Horse with the Loss only of six of our Men killed and about twenty wounded The Earl of Clanrickard finding the Irish Affairs in a desperate Condition with what Forces he had left retired into the Isle of Carrick where being encompassed by our Men on all sides he submitted and obtained Liberty to transport himself with three thousand Men to any foreign Country in Friendship with the Commonwealth within the space of three Months The Parliament having already sent over to us five Companies of Foot under the Command of Licutenant Colonel Finch who had done very good Service at the Battel of Worcester resolved to send eight hundred more out of the Regiment of Major Gen. Lambert and an intire Regiment commanded by Col. Clark which Forces were procured rather to promote the Designs of General Cromvel than from any need we had of them our military Service in Ireland by the Blessing of God drawing towards a Conclusion most of the Irish Forces having submitted and laid down their Arms no Garison of any Strength holding out against us and many Thousand of the Enemy sent into foreign Service The Souldiers of Lambert's Regiment were countermanded upon his refusal to go to Ireland without the Character of Deputy but the Regiment of Col. Clark being throughly principled for Cromvel's Design continued their March by order of the Parliament who were perswaded to constitute Lieutenant General Fleetwood Commander in Chief of their Forces in Ireland and one of their Commissioners for the Civil Affairs in that Nation The States General upon the Return of their Ambassadors from England dispatched Orders to their Admiral to take all Advantages against the English and solicited the King of Denmark to break with us also encouraging him to detain twenty two English Merchant Ships which he had formerly seized coming through the Sound The Parliament to prevent the Dangers that might ensue by farther Delay gave Orders to General Blake to fall upon the Subjects of Holland wheresoever he should meet them and particularly to interrupt their Fishery upon the Northern Coast sending the Regiments of Col. Ingoldsby and Col. Goff on board the Fleet. General Blake having received these Instructions set sail for the North where meeting with about six hundred Herring-Busses under a Convoy of twelve Men of War he took and sunk the whole Convoy and having seized the Fish that the Busses had taken he released all the Vessels with the Seamen belonging to them Which Action was blamed by some who thought that by the help of those Ships we might have been enabled to erect a Fishery and thereby have made some Reparation to the English Nation for the Damages which they had sustained from the Dutch and that by detaining their Mariners we might have weakned and distressed them considerably they wanting Men for the management of their Shipping In the mean time Sir George Ayscue who was lately returned from the Reduction of Barbadoes and had convoyed into the River five Merchant Ships richly laden from the East Indies fell upon a Fleet of Hollanders consisting of sorty Merchant-men under the Convoy of four Men of War Of this Fleet he took seven forced divers on shore and the rest narrowly escaped About the same time a Ship from Guiny valued at forty thousand Pounds was by some of ours taken srom the Dutch with many other rich Ships to the great Prejudice and Interruption of their Trade To apply some Remedy to this the Dutch Admiral with his Fleet came into the Downs and anchored by Sir George Ayscue who was retired under Dover-Castle being much inferiour in Number to the Enemy but the Hollanders after a short stay left our Fleet and set sail without attempting any thing against us At Leghorn some of their Men of War preparing to seize such English Merchants Ships as lay in that Port the Grand Duke sent a Message to
Officers were either omitted by the Parliament or had quitted their Commands in the Army judging himself Master of the Field marched towards Leicester and by this time was grown so considerable that the Committee of both Kingdoms thought it high time to look after him and to that end commanded the General with the Army to march and observe his Motions but before he could overtake him the King had made himself Master of Leicester by storm and plundered it with the loss of about seven hundred Men on his side and about one hundred of the Town Being encouraged with this Success and with the consideration that he was to encounter with an unexperienced Enemy upon advice that our Army was in search of him he advanced towards them and both Armies met in the Field of Naseby on the 14 th of June 1645. Some days before one Col. Vermuyden an old Souldier who commanded a Regiment of Horse had laid down his Commission whether through diffidence of Success or what other Consideration I know not and in the beginning of the Engagement Major General Skippon the only old Souldier remaining amongst the chief Officers of the Army received a shot in the Body from one of our own Party as was supposed unwillingly whereby he was in a great measure disabled to perform the Duty of his Place that day tho extreamly desirous to do it Under these Discouragements the Horse upon our Left Wing were attacked by those of the Enemies Right and beaten back to our Cannon which were in danger of being taken our Foot giving ground also But our Right Wing being strengthned by those of our Left that were rallied by their Officers fell upon the Enemies Left Wing and having broken and repulsed them resolving to improve the Opportunity charged the main Body of the King's Army and with the Assistance of two or three Regiments of our Infantry entirely encompassed the Enemies Body of Foot who finding themselves deserted by their Horse threw down their Arms and yielded themselves Prisoners By this means our Horse were at leisure to pursue the King and such as fled with him towards Leicester taking many Prisoners in the pursuit who with those taken in the Field amounted in all to about six thousand and amongst them six Colonels eight Lieutenant Colonels eighteen Majors seventy Captains eighty Lieutenants eighty Ensigns two hundred inferiour Officers about one hundred and forty Standards of Horse and Foot the King's Footmen and Servants and the whole Train of Artillery and Baggage This Victory was obtained with the Loss of a very few on our side and not above three or four hundred of the Enemy In the Pursuit the King's Cabinet was taken and in it many Letters of Consequence particularly one from the Lord Digby advising the King before any Act of Hostility on either side to betake himself to some Place of Strength and there to declare against the Parliament by which Men perceived that the Design of making War upon the Parliament was resolved upon early the King having followed this Council exactly The Parliament had impeached Finch of High Treason for advising the illegal Tax of Ship-money soliciting the Judges to declare it lawful and threatning those who refused so to do for which good Service the King had preferred him to be Keeper of the Great Seal but the Place being vacant upon his Flight the King would not entrust it with Littleton before he had obliged him by an Oath to promise to send the Seal to the King whensoever he should by any Messenger require it of him which I am inclined to believe to have been the Cause why Littleton left the Parliament not daring to stay after he had according to his Oath sent the Seal to the King by one Mr. Elliot dispatched to him by the King for that purpose The Seal being thus carried away the Parliament finding Justice obstructed through the want of it declared that the Seal ought to attend them during their Sitting and therefore that all that was or should be done since it was carried to the King was null and void Upon which a new Seal was ordered to be made and Commissioners nominated for the keeping of it and putting it in execution to all Intents and Purposes the Parliament thereby exercising the Supreme Authority in virtue of their frequent Declarations That the King doth nothing in his personal Capacity as King but in his politick Capacity according to Law of which the Judges of Westminster-hall are Judges in the Intervals of Parliament and during the sitting of Parliament the Two Houses being the Great Council both of King and People are the sole Judges thereof In the King's Cabinet were also found Letters from the Queen blaming him for owning those at Westminster to be a Parliament and warning him not to do any thing to the prejudice of the Roman Catholicks with a Copy of his Answer wherein he promised his Care of the Papists and excused his owning the two Houses at Westminster to be a Parliament assuring her that if he could have found two of his Mongrel Parliament at Oxford as he called them of his mind therein he would never have done it and that tho he had done it publickly the Parliament refusing to treat with him otherwise yet he had given Order to have it entred in the Journal of his Council that this notwithstanding should not be of any Validity for the enabling them to be a Parliament Another Paper was found with them giving some Account of the Troubles in Ireland wherein the Papists who had taken Arms being qualified Rebels that term was struck out and the word Irish added by the King himself There was likewise a Letter to the French King complaining of the Unkindness and Ingratitude of the Queen and of the Reasons of the Removal of her Servants that she brought over with her of which it had been Discretion in the King to have kept no Memorials such Matters when buried in Oblivion being next best to the not having any Differences between so near Relations Many more Letters there were relating to the Publick which were printed with Observations by Order of the Parliament and others of no less Consequence suppressed as I have been credibly informed by some of those that were instructed with them who since the King's Return have been rewarded for it One Paper I must not omit which was here found being that very Paper which contained the principal Evidence against the Earl of Strafford and had been as before mentioned purloined from the Committee appointed by the House of Commons to manage the Charge against him having these Words written upon it with the King 's own Hand This Paper was delivered to me by George Digby tho he as well as the rest of that Committee had solemnly protested that he had neither taken that Paper away nor knew what was become of it The Prisoners and Standards taken in the Fight were brought through London to Westminster The Standards
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
of Affairs declined to concur with them in the same Yet both of them with the City of London joined in driving on a Personal Treaty with the King in the Isle of Wight and to that end the Lords and Commons revoked the Votes for Non-Addresses whereby the King seemed to be on sure ground for that if the Scots Army failed he might still make Terms with the Parliament The King's Party in Colchester were also much encouraged with hopes of Relief from the Scots Army who were very numerous and well furnished with all things but a good Cause To fight this formidable Army the Lieutenant General could not make up much above seven thousand Horse and Foot and those so extremely harassed with hard Service and long Marches that they seemed rather fit for a Hospital than a Battel With this handful of Men he advanced towards the Enemy and about Preston in Lancashire both Armies met on the 17 th of August 1648. The English who were in the Scots Army had the Honour of the Van and for a time entertained ours with some Opposition but being vigorously pressed by our Men they were forced to retreat to a Pass which they maintained against us whilst they sent to their General for Succours which he not sending on purpose as was said that the English might be cut off and his Party kept intire to enable him to set up for himself and give Law to both Nations they began to shift for themselves which made such an Impression upon the Scots that they soon followed their Example retreating in a disorderly manner Ours followed them so close that most of their Foot threw down their Arms and yielded themselves Prisoners Many of the principal Officers of their Foot were taken with all their Artillery Ammunition and Baggage Hamilton with four or five thousand Horse in a Body left the Field and was pursued by Col. Thorney a Member of Parliament and Colonel of a Regiment of Horse a worthy and a valiant Man who following them too close and unadvisedly run himself upon one of their Lances wherewith he was mortally wounded which he perceiving by the wasting of his Spirits to express his Affection to his Country and Joy for the Defeat of the Enemy desired his Men to open to the right and left that he might have the Satisfaction to see them run before he died The Enemies Body of Horse kept themselves together for some days roving up and down the Country about Leicestershire which County the Lord Grey of Grooby had raised and brought together about three thousand Horse and Foot to preserve the Country from Plunder and to take all possible Advantages against the Enemy and tho a Body of Horse from the Army was in pursuit of the Scots yet the Leicestershire Party came up first to them at Uttoxeter in Staffordshire where the Body of the Enemies Horse was and whilst the Scots were treating with the other Party from the Army the Lord Grey's Men observing no Guards kept entred upon them before any Conditions were made whereupon Hamilton surrendred himself to Col. Wayte an Officer of the Leicestershire-Party delivering to him his Scarf his George and his Sword which last he desired him to keep carefully because it had belonged to his Ancestors By the two Parties the Scots were all made Prisoners and all their Horses seized the Duke of Hamilton was carried Prisoner to Windsor-Castle and all their Standards of Horse and Foot were taken and sent up to London where the Parliament ordered them to be hung up in Westminster-Hall The House of Lords who had avoided to declare the Scots Enemies whilst their Army was entire now after their Defeat prevented the House of Commons and moved that a Day might be appointed to give God Thanks for this Success The News of this Victory being carried to the Isle of Wight the King said to the Governour that it was the worst News that ever came to England to which he answered That he thought the King had no cause to be of that Opinion since if Hamilton had beaten the English he would certainly have possessed himself of the Thrones of England and Scotland The King presently replied You are mistaken I could have commanded him back with the motion of my Hand Which whether he could do or no was doubtful but whatever Reasons he had for this Opinion it seemed very unseasonable to own it openly in that Conjuncture Lieutenant General Cromwell marched with part of his Army to Edinburgh where he dispossessed the Hamiltonian Party of their Authority and put the Power into the hands of the Presbyterians by whom he was received with great Demonstrations of Joy and tho lately they looked upon the Independent Party as the worst of their Enemies yet now they owned and embraced them as their best Friends and Deliverers and having notice given them that the English Army was about to return into England they prevailed with the Lieutenant General to leave Major General Lambert with a Body of Horse till they could raise more Forces to provide for their own Safety The Treaty with the King being pressed with more heat than ever and a Design visibly appearing to render all our Victories useless thereby by the Advice of some Friends I went down to the Army which lay at that time before Colchester where attending upon the General Sir Thomas Fairfax to acquaint him with the state of Affairs at London I told him that a Design was driving on to betray the Cause in which so much of the Peoples Blood had been shed that the King being under a Restraint would not account himself obliged by any thing he should promise under such Circumstances assuring him that most of those who pushed on the Treaty with the greatest Vehemency intended not that he should be bound to the performance of it but designed principally to use his Authority and Favour in order to destroy the Army who as they had assumed the Power ought to make the best use of it and to prevent the Ruin of Themselves and the Nation He acknowledged what I said to be true and declared himself resolved to use the Power he had to maintain the Cause of the Publick upon a clear and evident Call looking upon himself to be obliged to pursue the Work which he was about Perceiving by such a general Answer that he was irresolute I went to Commissary General Ireton who had a great Influence upon him and having found him we discoursed together upon the same Subject wherein we both agreed that it was necessary for the Army to interpose in this matter but differed about the time he being of opinion that it was best to permit the King and the Parliament to make an Agreement and to wait till they had made a full Discovery of their Intentions whereby the People becoming sensible of their own Danger would willingly join to oppose them My Opinion was that it would be much easier for the Army to keep them
in some measure assured that they would be true to what they promised in case the Common-wealth Interest should come to be disputed before we would report their Condition to the House Some of the House of Lords having procured themselves to be chosen by the People sat in Parliament upon the Foot of their Election in which Number was Philip Earl of Pembroke who being chosen by the Freeholders of the County of Berks upon his admission to the House signed the Engagement as the rest of the Members who sat there had done the Contents of which was To be true and faithful to the Commonwealth as it was established without a King or House of Lords The same Engagement was taken by the Earl of Salisbury and the Lord Edward Howard when they took their Places in Parliament after they had been elected to serve there Whilst we were thus providing for our Security in England our Affairs in Ireland had not the same Success the Earl of Ormond having reconciled the English in Munster to the Supreme Council of the Irish Rebels the Scots also in the North falling in with them against us with whom some Gentlemen of those Parts joined tho they had engaged themselves to the contrary Yet one thing happened tending very much to the preservation of Dublin and those few Places that were kept for the Parliament which was that Owen Roe O Neal who was General of the Old Irish as they were termed could by no means be brought to a Conjunction with the English Sir Charles Coote being besieged in London-derry agreed to supply the Besiegers with Powder upon their engaging to furnish him with such Provisions as he wanted which was performed on both sides and the Lord Inchequin who was besieging Dundalk promised to do the like for Colonel Monk who then commanded in that Place upon the same Conditions which was performed on Monk's part but as his Men were carrying off the Ammunition they were fallen upon by a Party of Inchequin's Horse the Ammunition taken away and many of them killed The Scots drawing about Dundalk most of the Garison revolted to them whereupon Monk delivered up the Place upon condition that he should be permitted to return into England where being arrived he met with a cold Reception from the Parliament upon suggestion that he had corresponded with the Irish Rebels About this time an Agent from Owen Roe O Neal came privately to London and found out a way to acquaint the Council of State that if they thought sit a grant him a safe Conduct he would make some Propositions to them that would be for their Service The Council to avoid any Misconstruction of their Actions refused to hear him but appointed a Committee to speak with him of which I was one ordering us to report to them what he should propose His Proposition was that the Party commanded by O Neal should submit to and act for the Parliament if they might obtain Indemnity for what was passed and Assurance of the Enjoyment of their Religion and Estates for the time to come We asked him why they made application to us after they had refused to join with those who had been in Treaty with the King He answered that the King had broken his Word with them for tho they had deserved well of him and he had made them many fair Promises yet when he could make better Terms with any other Party he had been always ready to sacrifice them We asked him farther Why they had not made their Application sooner he told us because such Men had been possessed of the Power who had sworn their Extirpation but that now it was believed to be the Interest of those in Authority to grant Liberty of Conscience promising that if such Liberty might be extended to them they would be as zealous for a Commonwealth as any other Party instancing in many Countries where they were so We informed him that it was our Opinion that the Council would not promise Indemnity to all that Party they being esteemed to have been the principal Actors in the bloody Massacre at the beginning of the Rebellion Neither did we think that they would grant them the Liberty of their Religion believing it might prove dangerous to the Publick Peace The Council upon our Report of what had passed at the Conference concurred with our Opinion so that having no more to do with the Agent he was required to depart within a limited time The Farl of Ormond General Preston and the Lord Inchequin beginning to draw their Forces towards Dublin resolved first to reduce Tredah in order to which they sent Col. Worden thither with a strong Detachment of Horse and Foot who attempting to take it by Assault entred with most of his Men but was beat out again by an inconsiderable Number of ours Notwithstanding which the Garison wanting Men to desend their Works their Provisions also being almost consumed was obliged to capitulate and surrender upon condition that the Souldiers should have liberty to march to Duklin the rest to return home and to enjoy Protection there Dundalk and Tredagh being surrendred to the Enemy and Dublin threatned with a speedy Siege by the Forces of the Royalists and Irish combined together for the destruction of the English the Parliament taking into their serious Consideration the deplorable State of their distressed Friends resolved to send them Relief with all Expedition In the mean time the Enemy marched towards Dublin having sent a Party of Horse before to invest the Place and to prevent any Relief from Meath-side upon whose Approach Col. Jones with the Forces he had with him was obliged to retire to Jones A Party of Horse from the Town made a Sally upon the Enemy and were repulsed with some Loss but being reinforced from England by a Regiment of Horse commanded by Col. Reynolds and two Regiments of Foot Col. Jones being also come into the Town they resolved upon a vigorous Defence Immediately after the landing of these Supplies Dublin was formally besieged by the Enemy who had a great Army provided with all Necessaries for the carrying on of the Siege and furnished by the Country with Provisions in great abundance their Head-quarters being at Rathmims a Mile from Dublin towards Wicklom They took Rathfarnham by storm and sent fifteen hundred Men to fortify Baggatrath in order to hinder our Army from landing at Ringsend being within a quarter of a Mile of it and lying triangular with it and Dublin Baggatrath had a Rampart of Earth about it and the Enemy had wrought upon it to augment its Strength a whole Night before they were discovered But the next Morning Col. Jones perceiving their Design concluded it absolutely necessary to endeavour to remove them from thence before their Works were finished To that end he drew all his Forces both Horse and Foot to the Works that faced the Enemy and leaving as many as he thought necessary for the Defence of the Town sallied
out with the rest being between four and five thousand and falling upon them beat them from their Works killing Sir William Vaughan who commanded them and most of the Men that were with him closely pursuing the rest who fled towards their main Army where the Earl of Ormond thought fit at last to throw down his Cards which he had before refused to do in contempt of our Forces and with his Royal Army as it was called retreated in great Disorder towards Rathmims Col. Jones pursued him close finding little Opposition except from a Party of the Lord Inchequin's Horse that had formerly served the Parliament who defended a Pass for some time but were after some Dispute broken and forced to fly Having routed these he marched with all Diligence up to the Walls of Rathmims which were about sixteen Foot high and contained about ten Acres of Ground where many of the Enemies Foot had shut up themselves but perceiving their Army to be entirely routed and their General fled they yielded themselves Prisoners After this our Men continuing their Pursuit found a Party of about two thousand Foot of the Lord Inchequin's in a Grove belonging to Rathgar who after some Defence obtained Conditions for their Lives and the next day most of them took up Arms in our Service This Success was the more remarkable because unexpected on both sides our handful of Men being led step by step to an absolute Victory whereas their utmost Design at the beginning of the Action was only to beat the Enemy from Baggatrath and so surprizing to our Enemies that they had not time to carry off their Money which lay at Rathfarnham for the paying of their Army where Col. Jones seized four thousand Pounds very seasonably for the paiment of his Men. The Parliament having an Army ready to send to Ireland a sormidable Fleet to put to Sea another Army to keep at home for their own Defence and a considerable Force to guard the North against the Scots who had declared themselves Enemies and waited only an Opportunity of shewing it with Advantage thought themselves obliged to expose to sale such Lands as had been formerly possessed by Deans and Chapters that they might be enabled thereby to desray some part of that great Charge that lay upon the Nation To this end they authorized Trustees to sell the said Lands provided they could do it at ten Years Purchase at the least but such was the good Opinion that the People had conceived of the Parliament that most of those Lands were sold at the clear Income of fifteen sixteen and seventeen Years one half of the Sums contracted for being paid down in ready Money besides which the Woods were valued distinctly and to be paid for according to the Valuation All Impropriations belonging to the said Deans and Chapters as well as those of the Bishops either in Possession or Reversion were reserved from sale to enlarge the Maintenance of poor Ministers Yet this was not sufficient to restrain that Generation of Men from inveighing against the Parliament and conspiring with their Enemies both at home and abroad to weaken their hands and if possible to render them unable to carry on the Publick Service The Fee-farm Rents formerly belonging to the Crown were also sold and yet such was the necessity of Affairs that notwithstanding all this the Parliament found themselves obliged to lay a Tax of a hundred and twenty thousand Pounds a Month upon the Nation which Burden they bore for the most part without regret being convinced that it was wholly applied to the Use of the Publick and especially because those who imposed it paid an equal Proportion with the rest The Crown-Lands were assigned to pay the Arrears of those Souldiers who were in Arms in the Year 1647. which was done by the Influence of the Officers of the Army that was in present Service whereby they made Provision for themselves and neglected those who had appeared for the Parliament at the first and had endured the Heat and Burden of the day In the Month of September 1649 the Army embarked and set sail for Ireland Commissary General Ireton with one part of them designing for Munster and Lieutenant General Cromwell being appointed Lieutenant of Ireland with the rest for Dublin But the Wind blowing a strong Gale from the South they were both put into the Bay of Dublin where they were received with great Joy for tho the Enemies Army had been beaten from the Siege of that Place and Col. Jones with the small Forces he had with him had made the best Improvement he could of that Advantage by reducing some Garisons that lay nearest to him yet the Enemies were still in possession of nine Parts in ten of that Nation and had fortified the most considerable Places therein After our Army had refreshed themselves and were joined by the Forces of Col. Jones they mustered in all between sixteen and seventeen thousand Horse and Foot Upon their Arrival the Enemies withdrew and put most of their Army into their Garisons having placed three or four thousand of the best of their Men being most English in the Town of Tredah and made Sir Arthur Ashton Governour thereof A Resolution being taken to besiege that Place our Army sat down before it and the Lieutenant General caused a Battery to be erected against an Angle of the Wall near to a Fort which was within called the Windmill-Fort by which he made a Breach in the Wall but the Enemy having a Half-moon on the Out-side which was designed to flank the Angle of the Wall he thought fit to endeavour to possess himself of it which he did by storm putting most of those that were in it to the Sword The Enemy defended the Breach against ours from behind an Earth-work which they had cast up within and where they had drawn up two or three Troops of Horse which they had within the Town for the Encouragement and Support of their Foot The Fort also was not unserviceable to them in the defence of the Breach The Lieutenant General well knowing the Importance of this Action resolved to put all upon it and having commanded some Guns to be loaded with Bullets of half a Pound and fired upon the Enemies Horse who were drawn up somewhat in view himself with a Reserve of Foot marched up to the Breach which giving fresh Courage to our Men they made a second Attack with more Vigour than before Whereupon the Enemies Foot being abandoned by their Horse whom our Shot had forced to retire began to break and shift for themselves which ours perceiving followed them so close that they overtook them at the Bridg that lay cross the River and separated that part where the Action was from the principal part of the Town and preventing them from drawing up the Bridg entred pell-mell with them into the Place where they put all they met with to the Sword having positive Orders from the Lieutenant General to give no
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
close that as they fled from one Party they fell into the hands of another by which means they were in a short time entirely dispersed The Irish that submitted according to the Articles and delivered up their Arms and Horses to the Commissioners appointed by me to receive them were in all about three thousand But many of them finding themselves within that exception concerning the Murders of the English or hoping to obtain better Conditions or it may be taking pleasure in their predatory Life continued still in Arms. Of this number was the Lord Muskerry who commanded the Irish in Munster and at the time of our Treaty with those of Leinster had sent one Colonel Poor to Kilkenny to acquaint us that he designed to come in upon the same Conditions but we suspecting his sincerity by the means of some Letters which we intercepted were not wanting to prepare what was necessary in order to reduce him and his Party by force and having finished our Affairs at Kilkenny I removed with the Commissioners to Clonmel and from thence to Youghal and so to Cork The Rebels in Connaught and Vlster instead of submitting as was expected got together a Body of about five thousand Men under the Conduct of the Earl of Clanrickard and Sir Phelim O Neal with which they besieged and took the Fort of Ballishannon Whereupon Sir Charles Coot and Colonel Venables drew out what Forces they could and advanced towards them with such expedition that they were near the Place before the Enemy had notice of their March who finding themselves surprized retreated to the Bogs leaving a small Garison in Ballishannon but being pursued by our Men who killed and wounded about three hundred of them in which number were thirty Officers and took from them seven or eight thousand Cows upon whose Milk they chiefly subsisted twelve hundred of them came in and laid down their Arms upon which the Garison they had placed in Ballishannon surrendred upon Articles Major General Lambert making great Preparations to come over to us in the quality of Deputy to General Cromwell the Commission of the said General to be Lieutenant of Ireland expired Whereupon the Parliament took that Affair into their Consideration and tho there were not wanting many amongst them who affirmed the Title and Office of Lieutenant to be more sutable to a Monarchy than a Free Commonwealth yet it was likely to have been carried for the renewing his Commission under the same Title But he having at that time another Part to act stood up and declared his satisfaction with what had been said against constituting a Lieutenant in Ireland desiring that they would not continue him with that Character Upon which the Question being put the Parliament willing to believe him in earnest ordered it according to his Motion He farther moved that tho they had not thought fit to continue a Lieutenant of Ireland they would be pleased in consideration of the worthy Person whom they had formerly approved to go over with the Title of Deputy to continue that Character to him But the Parliament having suppressed the Title and Office of a Lieutenant in Ireland thought it altogether improper to constitute a Deputy who was no more than the Substitute of a Lieutenant and therefore refused to consent to that Proposal ordering that he should be inserted one of the Commissioners for Civil Affairs and constituted Commander in chief of their Forces in Ireland In the management of this Affair Mr. Weaver who was one of the Commissioners of Ireland but then at London and sitting in Parliament was very active to the great discontent of General Cromwell who endeavouring to perswade the Parliament that the Army in Ireland would not be satisfied unless their Commander in chief came over qualified as Deputy Mr. Weaver assured them that upon his knowledg all the sober People of Ireland and the whole Army there except a few factious Persons were not only well satisfied with the present Government both Civil and Military of that Nation but also with the Governours who managed the same and therefore moved that they would make no alteration in either and renew their Commissions for a longer time This discourse of Mr. Weaver tending to perswade the Parliament to continue me in the Military Command increased the Jealousie which General Cromwell had conceived of me that I might prove an obstruction to the Design he was carrying on to advance himself by the ruin of the Commonwealth And therefore since Major General Lambert refused to go over with any Character less than that of Deputy he resolved by any means to place Lieutenant General Fleetwood at the head of Affairs in Ireland By which Conduct he procured two great Advantages to himself thereby putting the Army in Ireland into the hands of a person secured to his Interest by the Marriage of his Daughter and drawing Major General Lambert into an enmity towards the Parliament prepared him to join with him in opposition to them when he should find it convenient to put his Design in execution In the mean time I was not wanting in my endeavours to reduce the Enemy in Ireland and to that end marched with about 4000 Foot and 2000 Horse towards Ross in Kerry where the Lord Muskerry made his principal Rendezvouz and which was the only place of Strength the Irish had left except the Woods Bogs and Mountains being a kind of an Island encompassed on every part by Water except on one side upon which there was a Bog not passable but by a Causway which the Enemy had fortified In this Expedition I was accompanied by the Lord Broghil and Sir Hardress Waller Major General of the Foot Being arrived at this Place I was informed that the Enemy received continual Supplies from those parts that lay on the other side and were covered with Woods and Mountains whereupon I sent a Party of two thousand Foot to clear those Woods and to find out some convenient place for the erecting a Fort if there should be occasion These Forces met with some opposition but at last they routed the Enemy killing some and taking others Prisoners the rest saved themselves by their good Footmanship Whilst this was doing I employed that Part of the Army which was with me in fortifying a Neck of Land where I designed to leave a Party to keep in the Irish on this side that I might be at liberty with the greatest part of the Horse and Foot to look after the Enemy abroad and to receive and convoy such Boats and other things necessary as the Commissioners sent to us by Sea When we had received our Boats each of which was capable of containing a hundred and twenty Men I ordered one of them to be rowed about the Water in order to find out the most convenient Place for Landing upon the Enemy which they perceiving thought fit by a timely Submission to prevent the Danger that threatned them and having expressed their Desires to that
the Dutch to let them know that if they committed any Acts of Hostility against the English Nation in that Harbour their Goods in the Town should be responsible for it Admiral Blake returned to the Downs and being informed that a French Fleet was going to relieve Dunkirk then besieged by the Spaniards called a Council of War and by their Advice sent a Squadron after them which coming up with the French took divers of their Ships and dispersed the rest by which means chiefly the Town was soon after surrendred The Irish being reduced to Extremity and most of the Country in the hands of the English the Parliament resolved to give the Adventurers Possession of Lands proportionable to the several Sums they had advanced and also to satisfy the Arrears of the Army out of the same as they had formerly promised which that they might be enabled to perform they passed an Act confiscating so much of the Estates of those who had acted against the English as they judged the Quality of their Crimes to require and extending their Clemency to those who had carried themselves peaceably In the mean time that I might bring such as remained yet in Arms against us to a necessity of submitting I marched with a Party of about four thousand Horse and Foot and having scoured the Counties of Wexford and Wicklo placing Garisons where I thought convenient I went to Tredagh where I met the rest of the Parliament's Commissioners and having staid eight days in that Place to settle Affairs I continued my March into the County of Meath and coming to Carrick Mac Ross a House belonging to the Earl of Essex where the Rebels had barbarously murdered one Mr. Blany a Justice of Peace in that Country I caused it to be fortified and put a Garison in it being advantageously situated to restrain the Enemies Excursions From hence I went to visit the Garison of Dundalk and being upon my Return I found a Party of the Enemy retired within a hollow Rock which was discovered by one of ours who saw five or six of them standing before a narrow Passage at the Mouth of the Cave The Rock was so thick that we thought it impossible to dig it down upon them and therefore resolved to try to reduce them by Smoak After some of our Men had spent most part of the day in endeavouring to smother those within by Fire placed at the Mouth of the Cave they withdrew the Fire and the next Morning supposing the Irish to be made uncapable of Resistance by the Smoak some of them with a Candle besore them crawled into the Rock One of the Enemy who lay in the middle of the Entrance fired his Pistol and shot the first of our Men into the Head by whose Loss we found that the Smoak had not taken the designed effect But seeing no other way to reduce them I caused the Trial to be repeated and upon examination found that tho a great Smoak went into the Cavity of the Rock yet it came out again at other Crevices upon which I ordered those Places to be closely stopped and another Smother made About an hour and half after this one of them was heard to groan very strongly and afterwards more weakly whereby we presumed that the Work was done yet the Fire was continued till about Midnight and then taken away that the Place might be cool enough for ours to enter the next Morning At which time some went in armed with Back Breast and Head-piece to prevent such another Accident as fell out at their first Attempt but they had not gone above six Yards before they found the Man that had been heard to groan who was the same that had killed one of our Men with his Pistol and who resolving not to quit his Post had been upon stopping the holes of the Rock choaked by the Smoak Our Souldiers put a Rope about his Neck and drew him out The Passage being cleared they entred and having put about fifteen to the Sword brought four or five out alive with the Priest's Robes a Crucifix Chalice and other Furniture of that kind Those within preserved themselves by laying their Heads close to a Water that ran through the Rock We found two Rooms in the Place one of which was large enough to turn a Pike and having filled the Mouth of it with large Stones we quitted it and marched to Castle-Blany where I left a Party of Foot and some Horse as I had done before at Carrick and Newry whereby that part of the County of Monaghan was pretty well secured We continued our March to Monaghan and so to Aghur where we cast up some Works and left a Garison to defend it Near this Place lay the Creaght of Lieutenant General O Neal Son to that O Neal who after several Years Imprisonment in the Tower of London died there He came over from the Service of the King of Spain to be Lieutenant General to the Army of Owen Roe O Neal but upon some Jealousy or particular Discontent was laid aside This Man with his Wife who he said was Niece to the Dutchess of Artois and some Children removed as the Irish do generally in those Parts with their Tenants and Cattel from one Place to another where there is Conveniency of Grass Water and Wood and there having built a House which they do compleatly in an hour or two they stay till they want Grass and then dislodg to another Station This way of living is accompanied with many Inconveniences to the Publick Service for they not only give shelter to the Enemy but take all Advantages themselves both to plunder and kill none knowing whence they come or whither they go and so can neither easily be prevented nor found out From hence I marched to Inniskillin in the County of Fermagnah that I might take a view of the Place and likewise provide Materials to fortify Lesneskey otherwise Bally Balfoar and to reduce an Island kept by the Irish in Loughern with another Fort they possessed near Bulturbet Being at Lesneskey I was met by Commissary General Reynolds who with a Party of Horse and Foot had dispersed the Enemy in Letrim Having fortified this Place and made some Preparations for the Reduction of the Island before-mentioned I received Advice from the Commissioners of Parliament at Dublin that Lieutenant General Fleetwood had landed at Waterford and was gone to Kilkenny where they designed to attend him The News of his Arrival was very welcome to me having found my Care and Fatigues recompensed only with Envy and Hatred and therefore having given Orders where I was for the carrying on the Publick Service I hastned after the Commissioners and being come to Kilkenny I saluted the Commander in Chief and congratulated his safe Arrival after which I gave him an Account of the Affairs of the Army with Assurances of my Resolution to obey his Orders In this place Col. Walter Bagnal who had been one of the Hostages delivered
I was obliged to walk about all Night which proved very cold by reason of a sharp Frost Towards Morning our Army having received a Reinforcement of Colonel Hampden's and several other Regiments to the number of about four thousand Men who had not been able to join us sooner was drawn up and about Day-light we saw the Enemy upon the top of the Hill so that we had time to bury our Dead and theirs too if we thought fit That Day was spent in sending Trumpeters to enquire whether such as were missing on both sides were killed or Prisoners Those of ours taken by the Enemy were the Lord St. Johns who was mortally wounded and declared at his Death a full Satisfaction and Cheerfulness to lay down his Life in so good a Cause Colonel Walton a Member of Parliament and Captain Austin an eminent Merchant in London of whom the last died through the hard Usage he received in the Goal at Oxford to which he was committed It was observed that the greatest Slaughter on our side was of such as ran away and on the Enemy's side of those that stood of whom I saw about threescore lie within the compass of threescore Yards upon the Ground whereon that Brigade fought in which the King's Standard was We took Prisoners the Earl of Lindsey General of the King's Army who died of his Wounds Sir Edward Stradling and Colonel Lunsford who were sent to Warwick-Castle That Night the Country brought in some Provisions but when I got Meat I could scarce eat it my Jaws for want of use having almost lost their natural Faculty Our Army was now refreshed and Masters of the Field and having received such a considerable Addition of Strength as I mentioned before we hoped that we should have pursued the Enemy who were marching off as fast as they could leaving only some Troops to face us upon the top of the Hill but instead of that for what reason I know not we marched to Warwick of which the Enemy having notice sent out a Party of Horse under Prince Rupert who on Tuesday Night fell into the Town of Keinton where our sick and wounded Souldiers lay and after they had cruelly murdered many of them returned to their Army The King as if Master of the Field marched to Banbury and summoned it and tho about a thousand of our Men were in the Town yet pretending it not to be sufficiently provided for a Siege they surrendred it to him From thence the King went to Oxford and our Army after some Refreshment at Warwick returned to London not like Men that had obtained a Victory but as if they had been beaten The Parliament ordered them to be recruited and about the same time sent to the King who was advanced with part of his Army to Maidenhead or thereabouts to assure him of their earnest Desire to prevent the effusion of more Blood and to procure a right Understanding between his Majesty and Them The King in his Answer which was brought by Sir Peter Killegrew professed to desire nothing more and that he would leave no means unattempred for the effecting thereof Upon which Answer the Parliament thought themselves secure at least against any sudden Attempt But the very next day the King taking the advantage of a very thick Mist marched his Army within half a Mile of Brentford before he was discovered designing to surprize our Train of Artillery which was then at Hammersmith the Parliament and City which he had certainly done if two Regiments of Foot and a small Party of Horse that lay at Brentford had not with unspeakable Courage opposed his Passage and stopt the March of his Army most part of the Afternoon During which time the Army that lay quarter'd in and about London drew together which some of them and particularly the Life-Guard had opportunity the sooner to do being at that very time drawn into Chelsey-Fields to muster where they heard the Vollies of Shot that passed between the Enemy and our little Party the Dispute continued for some Hours till our Men were encompassed quite round with Horse and Foot and then being over-power'd with Numbers on every side many brave and gallant Men having lost their Lives upon the Place the rest chusing rather to commit themselves to the Mercy of the Water than to those who were engaged in so treacherous a Design leap'd into the River where many Officers and private Souldiers were drowned and some taken Prisoners However the Enemies Design was by this means defeated and they discouraged from any farther Attempt that Night The Parliament also were alarm'd in such a manner with the Danger and Treachery of this Enterprize that they used all possible Diligence to bring their Forces together so that by eight of the Clock the next Morning we had a Body of twenty thousand Horse and Foot drawn up upon Turnham-green a Mile on this side Brentford Those of ours also that lay at Kingston were marching to us by the way of London The Enemy drew out a Party of theirs towards the Hill at Acton which we attacked and forced to retire in Disorder to their main Body And here again in the opinion of many judicious Persons we lost as at Edge-hill before a favourable opportunity of engaging the Enemy with great Advantage our Numbers exceeding theirs and their Reputation being utterly lost in the last Attempt But the Earl of Holland and others pretending to encourage our Army by their Presence made use of their time to disswade the Earl of Essex from fighting till the rest of our Forces arrived magnifying the Power of the Enemy to him and thereby giving them an opportunity to draw off their Forces and Artillery towards Kingston which they did as sast as they could leaving only a body of Horse to face us between the two Brentfords the rest having secured themselves by a timely Retreat Upon this Party some of our great Guns guarded by a Regiment of Foot were towards the Evening ordered to be fired The like Guard was drawn up in the High-ways to secure our Foot from any Attempt of Horse that might be made upon them which some Great Men who pretended a Resolution to fight in that Troop blamed charging the Advisers thereof with Rashness in hazarding them in such a Pound where they must inevitably be cut off if the Enemy should advance upon them But I fear this great care was only counterfeit and that those Persons well knew the Enemy to be in a flying and not in a charging Condition as it quickly appeared for our Cannon no sooner began to play upon them but they retired to the main Body of their Army the Rear of which had by that time recovered Hounslow-heath The Enemy took up their Head-quarters at Kingston where by the advantage of the Bridg over the Thames they hoped to be able tho inferiour in Number to defend themselves against a more numerous Army if they should be attacked and to put in execution
The Enemy not being at that time ready to make any Attempt upon us retreated to their main Body of which tho the Marquiss of Hertford carried the name of General that thereby the Country might be encouraged to come in yet Prince Maurice as he had then the principal Influence over them so he was soon after placed in the head of them as more likely to promote that Arbitrary and boundless 〈◊〉 which the King endeavoured to set up over the People Having notice that some of the King's Forces were at Salisbury I went out with six of my Troop to procure Intelligence and to do what Service I could upon the Enemies Straglers When I came to Sutton I was informed that six of them were gone up the Town just before Whereupon we made after them and by their Horses which we saw tied in a Yard supposed them to be in the House to which it belonged upon which I went in and was no sooner within the door but two of them shut it upon me but my Party rushing in they ran out at another and escaped a third mounted one of my Mens Horses and rid away the other three who were in a Room of the House upon promise of quarter for Life surrendred themselves with whom and six Horses we returned to the Castle Our Army after they had possest themselves of Reading did nothing remarkable that Summer only there hapned some Skirmishes in one of which that most eminent Patriot Col. Hampden lost his Life by a Shot in the Shoulder Sir William Waller commanded a Party in the West with which he did considerable Service tho it was so small that he marched for the most part in the Night to conceal his Weakness He reduced Higham-house a place of Strength garisoned by the Enemy and protected the Gentlemen of the Country whilst they were raising Forces for the Parliament And being joined by Sir Arthur Hasterig's Regiment of Horse and the Forces of Wilts Somerset and Dorset with as many as could be spared from Bristol he was become so considerable as to put a stop to the March of the King 's Western Army which coming to the Town where my Father's House was wholly ruined it and destroyed his Park But upon their Removal from thence conceiving I might take some Straglers or some way or other annoy the Enemy I went thither the Night after with about forty Horse where tho I could hear of no Men yet I found much Provision which a Gentlewoman had obliged the People of the Town to bring together and which she was preparing to send to the King's Army with Horses and Carts ready to carry it amongst which there was half a dozen Pasties of my Father's Venison ready baked which with as much of the other Provisions as we could we carried away with us The two Armies before-mentioned engaged about Lansdown where the Success was doubtful a good while but at last ours obtained the Victory The Cornish-men commanded by Sir Bevil Greenvil stood their Ground till they came to push of Pike but were then routed and Sir Bevil killed The Enemy retreated to the Devizes and ours pursued them The News of this Action being brought to us I marched out with my Horse towards Warmister and in the way searching the Houses of some Persons disaffected to the Publick we found two of our most active Enemies whom we carried away Prisoners But the great Hopes we had conceived of enjoying some Quiet in the West by the means of this Victory were soon blasted for a body of Horse sent from Oxford not being attended by any from our Army tho as I have heard commanded so to do engaged our Horse on Roundway-hill where the Over-forwardness of some of our Party to charge the Enemy upon disadvantageous Ground was the principal Cause of their Defeat The Horse being routed our Foot also quitted their Ground and shifted for themselves many of whom were taken and many killed the rest retreated to Bristol where they made the best Preparation they could to defend themselves expecting suddenly to be besieged as it fell out Sir William Waller with what Horse he had left marched to London where no means were omitted to recruit them Exeter was surrendred to the Enemy upon terms and Bristol besieged which being stormed on one side and ours not doing their Duty part of the Enemy being entred the Governour desired to capitulate and delivered up the Town upon Articles which were not well kept in retaliation as they pretended for the like breach by ours at the taking of Reading The Governour of Bristol was hereupon tried and condemned by a Court Martial how justly I know not but the Parliament ordered the execution of the Sentence to be suspended About this time a Gentleman of the Country related to the Lord Cottington desired a Conference with me wherein he endeavoured to perswade me to surrender the Castle of Warder promising me any Terms I would desire and assuring me that several of the Western Gentlemen finding our Affairs desperate had made their Peace with the King and that the Kentish Men who were risen for him would be sufficient to accomplish his Work tho he had no other Army Also Colonel Robert Philips my Friend and Kinsman coming before the Castle some time after with a Party of Horse and desiring to speak with me was earnest with me to the same effect my Answers to both were that I had resolved to run all Hazards in the discharge of that Trust which I had undertaken The two Houses of Parliament notwithstanding the many Difficulties they met with at home having sent over Forces to subdue the Rebels in Ireland thought it also their Duty to send Recruits thither and at the same time presented the Earl of Ormond with a Jewel as a Testimony of their acceptance of his Service at the Battle of Rosse where there was above forty of his own Name and Kindred killed upon the place and the Enemy totally routed tho for a long time they had much the better of the day The Earl of Leicester having been voted Lieutenant of Ireland by the Parliament and approved by the King wanted nothing but his Commission to begin his Journey for that Kingdom which after several Delays he received from the King but being at Chester in order to take Shipping the Carriages and Draught-Horses which lay there for that Service as also the Clothes and other Provisions designed by the Parliament for the Souldiers in Ireland were seized by the King's Order and made use of for his Service here whilst his Agents there endeavoured to perswade the English Souldiers in that Country that they were neglected by the Parliament Upon which false Suggestion he prevailed with them to serve him in England against the Parliament and contrary to his Engagement to both Houses not to treat with the Rebels without their Concurrence made a Cessation with them and brought over many of them to serve in his Army against the
by storm with little loss on our side About this time a considerable Party in Kent rose and declared for the King which was dispersed by some Forces sent from London under the Command of Col. Brown whereby the Committee of Kent were encouraged and enabled to raise a good Body of Horse and Foot for the Service of the Parliament My Father apprehending that I was not likely to be relieved in three or four Months in case I were besieged and knowing that the Enemies were Masters of the Field in those Parts and that I was about twenty Miles from any of our Garisons procured an Order from the Parliament impowering me to slight the Castle of Warder and to draw off the Garison if I saw cause which Care of theirs quickned my Zeal to their Service and put me upon endeavouring as well as I could to prepare for the worst To that end being in want of Ammunition I went to Southampton where I bought what they could spare and returned to the Castle where being in great want of Money having always paid the Country People for whatsoever I had from them I made a seasonable Discovery of Money Plate and Jewels to the value of about twelve hundred Pounds walled up by the Enemy Part of this Sum I expended upon the Garison and gave an account thereof to the Parliament The Enemy was now beginning to draw about us yet would not actually besiege us before they had endeavoured to reduce us by Treachery To this end one Capt. White a Papist of Dorsetshire having found a Boy at Shaftsbury fit for the purpose gave him such Instructions as he thought fit He was not above twelve Years of Age and yet as I was afterwards informed had already attempted to poison his Grandfather This Boy he sent to the Castle to desire of me to be admitted to turn the Spit or perform any other servile Employment to which I consented his Youth freeing him as I thought from any Suspicion About three or four days after a Party of the Enemies Horse appeared before the Castle and making a great shout the Cattle belonging to the Garison consisting of about forty Cows and one Bull which they all followed ran away at the Noise Some of us endeavouring to turn them the Enemy fired so thick upon us that one of my Souldiers and my self were forced to betake our selves to a Tree for shelter where my Souldier levelling his Musquet through a hole of the Tree which was about a Foot in diameter a Ball from the Enemy grazing upon the upper part of the Hole and thereby forced downwards shot the young Man through the Hand and me into the Leg which obliged me to keep my bed for two days A great Wall-gun called a Harquebuz de Croq being fired from the top of the Castle burst in the middle At night as this Boy was sitting with the Guard by the fire some of them conceived a Jealousy of him and strictly examining him about the cause of his coming he affirmed it to be because the Master whom he served had used him cruelly for speaking some Words in favour of the Parliament With which Answer they not being satisfied threatned that unless he would confess the truth they would hang him immediately and to afright him tied a piece of Match about his Neck and began to pull him up on a Halbert Upon this he promised to confess all if they would spare his Life and thereupon acknowledged that Capt. White had hired him to number the Men and Arms in the Castle to poison the Arms the Well and the Beer to blow up the Ammunition to steal away one of my best Horses to carry him back to them for which Service he was to receive half a Crown confessing that he had accordingly poisoned two Cannon and the Harquebuz that was broken but pretended that his Conscience would not give him leave to poison the Water and the Beer The great Guns were made serviceable again by oiling and making a fire in them The Poison he used was of a red Colour and made up in the shape of a Candle with part of which he had rubbed three of our Guns After this Deliverance we got in some Cattle for our Provision but the Enemy drawing into the Villages about us soon prevented us from bringing in any more Yet we ventured one Morning knowing it to be Market-day to draw out between forty and fifty Pikes and Firelocks with which we went about a quarter of a Mile from the Castle upon the Road that leads to Shaftsbury According to our expectation the Market-people came with Carts and Horses loaded with Corn and other Provisions which we seized and sent to the Castle paying for it the Market-price at which they were not a little surprized By this means we furnished our selves with three Months more Provision than we had before which we had no sooner taken in when the Enemy drew round the Castle and from that time blocked us up more closely raising a Breastwork by casting up of Earth about a Tree which we had cut down on the side of a Hill from whence they commanded the Gate of the Castle the only way that we had to sally out upon occasion and shot several of our Men amongst the rest my Gunner as they fetched in Wood. The Person that commanded the Party which lay before us was one Capt. Christopher Bowyer of Dorsetshire who to get us out of the Castle proposed to grant us what terms we desired to which we replied that we designed to discharge our Duty by keeping it as long as we could Upon this he threatned us with great Numbers of Horse and Foot attended with several pieces of Cannon which he said were drawing towards us boasting of the Justice of his Cause and representing to us the Greatness of our Danger and the inevitable Ruin that must ensue upon our Obstinacy But Capt. Bean who at that time served as Cannoneer ours being shot as I mentioned before told him that we were not at all afrighted with his Menaces but upon confidence of the Justice of our Cause were resolved to defend the Place to the utmost and warning him to look to himself fired a Gun with which he wounded him in the Heel and it being unsafe for any to carry him off by day his Wound gangreened before night and he died about two days after In the room of Capt. Bowyer one Col. Barnes was sent by the King to command the Forces that lay before us he was Brother to an honest Gentleman who was Chaplain to my Father for whose sake and because he had the Reputation of being an old Souldier a thing much valued by the Parliament at that time my Father had procured him a considerable Employment in their Service in which he continued as long as their constant Pay lasted but that failing he ran away to the King Upon his coming he raised a Fort within Musquet-shot of us on the Hill that
praying for the Prosperity of the Publick Cause The Words spoken by Mr. Martin in the Parliament were to this purpose That it was better one Family should perish than that the People should be destroyed And being required to explain himself he ingenuously confessed that he meant the Family of the King for which he was committed to the Tower but afterwards released and re-admitted to his Place in the Parliament About the same time Mr. John Pym also died who had been very instrumental in promoting the Interest of the Nation His Body was for several days exposed to publick view in Derby-house before it was interred in confutation of those who reported it to be eaten with Lice The Enemy before Warder-Castle kept their Guards within Pistol-shot of it day and night so that we could not expect any more Intelligence from abroad yet one of ours sent by us into the Country a Week before to informs us of the state of Affairs met at an honest Man's House not far from the Castle a Souldier whom the Enemy had pressed to serve them whose Heart being with us these two agreed that when Relief should be coming he who was without should appear with a white Cap on his Head and blow his Nose with his Handkerchief In the mean time the Besiegers raised a Battery and by a shot from thence cut off the Chain of our Portcullis which rendring our Gate unserviceable to us we made it so to them by barricading it up on the inside so that now we had no way out but through a Window our other Doors being walled up before But the Battery not answering their expectation they resolved to try other Experiments either by digging a Hole in the Castle-wall and putting a sufficient quantity of Powder therein to blow it up or by undermining the said Wall and supporting it with Timber and then setting it on fire whereby they supposed to destroy that also on which the Wall rested and so to bring down the Wall In order to this they prepared Materials to defend them whilst they were about the Work and brought together about two dozen of Oaken Plants three Inches thick which they endeavoured in a dark Night to set up against the Castle-wall half of them on one side and half on the other Our Sentinels discovered them on one side and beat them off forcing them to leave their Boards behind them On the other side they set them up and in the Morning were hard at work under their Shelter We heard a noise of digging but for some time could not perceive where at length we discovered the place and endeavoured to remove them by throwing down hot Water and melted Lead tho to little purpose At last with Hand-granadoes we obliged them to quit their Work and to leave their Tools behind them with their Provisions for three or four days and tho we had no way out of the Castle but by a narrow Window yet we brought in their Materials and Provisions for that Morning having shot the Officer that commanded their Guard in the Head their Trenches not being finished to secure their Approaches to the Out-houses under the shelter of which they kept their Guard and being admonished by what befel Capt. Bowyer of the danger of delaying to dress a Wound they desired leave to carry off their wounded Man which I granted on condition that they would commit no Act of Hostility in the mean time And when five or six of them who carried him off were about Pistol-shot from the Wall I appeared with forty Musqueteers ready to fire on the top of the Castle and ordered three or four Men out of the Window mentioned before who brought in their Materials A Relation of mine one Capt. Henry Williams who commanded a Company in Colonel Barns his Regiment desiring to be admitted to speak with me and I consenting he endeavoured to perswade me to a Surrender offering me any Conditions I would ask but his Arguments made no Impression upon me In the mean time the King to encourage his Friends in the City to rise for him sent them a Commisiion to that purpose by the Lady Aubogny which she brought made up in the Hair of her Head but the Design being discovered she sled for Resuge to the House of the French Ambassador who refusing to deliver her to Sir Henry Vane and Mr. John Lisle sent by the Parliament with a Guard to seize her pretending his Privilege the House being informed by Sir Francis Knowles that at the time of the bloody Massacre at Paris one of the French King's Secretaries who was of the Reformed Religion flying to the English Ambassador's House for Protection and disguizing himself amongst the Grooms was forced 〈◊〉 thence by the King's Command ordered this Lady to be treated in the like manner which was done accordingly Hereupon an Order was passed for the Trial of those who were engaged in this Conspiracy and Mr. Thomson and Mr. Challoner were found guilty and executed for it Sir John Hotham and his Son were also condemned to lose their Heads for endeavouring to betray the Garison of Hull to the Enemy which Sentence was put in execution upon the Son the 1 st of January 1643. and on the Father the day following Sir Alexander Carew was also beheaded for endeavouring to betray Plimouth with the Government of which he was entrusted by the Parliament About the 16 th of the same January the Scots marched into England and having Berwick secured for them the first thing they attempted was the taking of Newcastle which they did by storm The Lords and Commons for their Encouragement having sentenced and caused execution to be done upon William Laud Archbishop of Canterbury their Capital Enemy o◠the 10 th of the same Month. Sir William Waller being reinforced with some city-City-Regiments thought himself strong enough to take the field and because the Western Clothiers were often obstructed in their Passage to London by the Garison of Basinghouse which was kept for the King he attempted to reduce it but was repulsed with loss After which he marched to Arundel in Sussex where he soon beat the King's Garison out of the Town into the Castle which after some time and the loss of some Men was surrendred to him with several Persons of Quality therein at Mercy About the middle of January Sir William assured us that if we held out a Fortnight longer he would relieve us or lay his Bones under our Walls We had also some hopes given us from Southampton and Pool the latter of which Places about this time some of the Inhabitants endeavoured to betray to the Lord Crawford but the Design being discovered as the Enemy was entring the Outworks and expecting to be admitted into the Town some great Guns loaded with small Shot were fired upon his Men and made a great Slaughter amongst them Between these two Garisons of Southampton and Pool lay my Troop of Horse to do what Service they could
Earl of Essex the Army of the Enemy commanded by Prince Maurice retreated farther Westward Sir William Waller according to his Orders from the General followed the King but could not find an opportunity to engage him so that the Summer being almost spent and the Western Gentlemen observing little done for the Security of those Parts to which they were related prevailed with him to permit Col. Alexander Popham Col. Edward Popham his Brother my self and some others to return into the West in order to provide Recruits for his Army and to secure the Country To this end I received a Commission from him to raise and command a Regiment of Horse with a Permission to take my own Troop with me As soon as we came into Wiltshire we were earnestly solicited to go to the Relief of Major Wansey who was besieged by the Enemy in Woodhouse formerly purchased of my Father by Mr. Arundet Brother to the Lord Arundel of Warder Upon our Approach we understanding that their Forces were drawn off staid a day or two at the Devizes where notice being brought to us of the Enemies Return before that Place we immediately advanced and came that Night to Warmister from whence we sent a Party of about forty Horse with order to bring us certain Intelligence of the Enemies Condition This Party meeting upon Warmister-heath with about the like Number of theirs fought them and having taken some Prisoners returned to us with an account that the Enemy only drew off from Woodhouse to reinforce themselves for the better carrying on of their Work in order to which Sir Ralph Hopton with a thousand Horse was come from Bristol The next Morning a Party of the Enemies Horse faced us on the Heath thereby to provoke us to charge them and then by retreating from us to have drawn us within their Body of Horse who were marching on our left amongst the Hedges endeavouring to get into our Rear which we suspecting forbore making any Attempt upon them and about noon finding that we were not in a condition of performing what we came about marched off towards Salisbury We were no sooner got upon the Downs but we discovered their Body of Horse marching into the Town yet we continued our March observing the Enemy as well as we could to which end I kept in the Rear and discovering them climbing the Hills not far from us I informed Col. Alexander Popham thereof telling him that they appearing to be at least four times our Number I thought it not at all advisable to engage them But he saying that since they were so near we could not in Honour avoid it I promised him that I would not desert him Whereupon he drew up his Party into one Body which with reformed Officers and others consisted of near a hundred and I drew up my Troop consisting of the like Number into another Body but having before sent away my Sumpter and led Horses upon suspicion of the Event I was obliged to ride after them to take my Sute of Arms which was with them having ordered my Men not to stir from their Ground till I came back in which they were very punctual As I was returning I met Col. Popham and all his Party flying of whom demanding the Cause of this Alteration of his Resolution he answered that it was by no means advisable to fight them I found my Men standing their Ground and the Enemy advancing towards them in twelve Bodies each of which seemed to be as big as ours I thanked them for obeying my Orders and told them that if they continued to do so I doubted not by the Blessing of God to bring them off In order to which I sent my Standard before with half a score chosen Horse and then began to march off with the rest but finding some of my Men beginning to ride for it I put my self at the head of them to let them see that I could ride as fast as they withal telling them that if they would stand by me I would bring up the Rear By this means I got my Men to keep close together which contribtued much to their Safety The greatest part of the other Company followed Col. Edward Popham to Salisbury but his Brother Col. Alexander with about six Horse struck out of the way and retired to Pool After we had made about three Miles of our way one of my Troopers fell from his Horse and the Beast running from him he was in great danger of being destroyed by the Enemy who was in pursuit of us which being willing to prevent I took him up behind me and his Horse running along with the Company was taken soon after on the top of the Hill very seasonably for my Horse was by that time so far spent with the extraordinary Weight that he could not gallop any longer but the Souldier mounting his own Horse mine soon recovered his Wind and Strength again Twice or thrice the Enemy came up to us demanding the Word and were as often repulsed to their Body the last time we shot one of their Officers which made them more cautious of approaching us Many of our Horses being spent I commanded the Souldiers to quit them and to run them through that they might not fall into the hands of the Enemy advising the Men to shift for themselves either amongst the Corn or in the Villages through which we passed whereby most of them secured themselves but some were taken by the Enemy and killed in cold Blood by one of their Officers after Quarter given and their Lives promised to them At last I came to Salisbury with about thirty Horse where divers Persons disaffected to the Parliament made a great shout at our coming into the Town reioicing at our Defeat which they had heard of by some of our Company who had passed through the Town about an hour before From thence I continued my way to a place called Mutton-bridg on one side of which there is a Causway about three foot broad where I made a halt and ordering my Party to continue their Retreat towards Southampton I kept some of those who were the best mounted with me and made good that Pass for some time against the Enemy who tho they followed us as far as White Parish twenty Miles from the place where they first began their pursuit they took no more of our Men after this Halt which we put them to so that with the rest I arrived safe at Southampton Two days after my coming to Southampton Col. Norton received Advice that the Enemy was preparing to send some Forces in order to beat off those of ours that blocked up Basing-house He being then before Winchester and resolving to march with his Troop to reinforce the Besiegers desired me with my Troop to supply his place at Winchester till his Return Being unwilling to refuse any publick Service tho my Men were already very much harassed I marched thither and that those in the Castle might
William Waller were ordered with their Forces to draw Westward of London as well to favour the Earl of Essex upon occasion as to put a stop to the Enemies Approach if he should attempt it The King marched as was expected in great Triumph out of the West Sir William Waller lying about Basingstoke from whom I received a Letter inviting me to come to their Assistance in order to which I began my March with some Horse and Dragoons raised by Major Wansey who had been commanded by the Earl of Essex to continue with me and on the way received an Order from the Committee of both Kingdoms to advance towards them with what Force I had We were very well received by them having with us about five hundred Horse and particularly because they had been under some apprehensions that the Enemy had intercepted us who were indeed posted on our way yet we passed by them in the Night without disturbance and came safely to our Friends Within a day or two our Army advanced towards Newbury of which Place the Enemies had possessed themselves The Earl of Essex being indisposed could not attend that Service and therefore the Committee of both Kingdoms sent some Members of their own to take care that all possible Advantages might be taken against the Enemy and to prevent any Contention amongst our Friends concerning the Command or any other Matters The River that ran through the Town defended the Enemy on the South-side of it so that we could not come at them And on the North-west part of it within Cannon-shot lay Dennington-Castle in which they had placed a Garison so that we had no other way to the Town but on the North-East of it where they had raised a Breast-work and furnished some Houses that were without it with Foot the Ground between that and the River being marshy full of Ditches and not passable On the North-side of this High-way was a strong Stone House belonging to one Mr. Doleman having a Rampart of Earth about it which was also possessed by the Enemy so that little could be done upon them the first day save skirmishing in small Parties as they thought fit to come out to us On our side we had the Advantage of a Hill which served in some measure to cover our Men Here we planted some of our Field-pieces and fired upon the Enemy who answered us in the like manner from the Town In the Afternoon they drew two of their Guns to the other side of the River and with them fired upon that part of ours that lay on the side of the Hill who were much exposed to that place where their Guns were planted My Regiment being that day on the Guard received the greatest Damage amongst others my Cousin Gabriel Ludlow who was a Cornet therein and who had behaved himself so well in the Defence of Warder-Castle was killed He died not immediately after he was shot so that having caused him to be removed out of the reach of their Guns and procured a Chirurgeon to search his Wounds he found his Belly broken and Bowels torn his Hip-bone broken all to shivers and the Bullet lodged in it notwithstanding which he recovered some Sense tho the Chirurgeon refused to dress him looking on him as a dead Man This Accident troubled me exceedingly he being one who had expressed great Affection to me and of whom I had great hopes that he would be useful to the Publick In this condition he desired me to kiss him and I not presently doing it thinking he had talked lightly he pressed me again to do him that favour whereby observing him to be sensible I kissed him and soon after having recommended his Mother Brothers and Sisters to my Care he died Our Enemies having secured themselves as I mentioned before we were necessitated to divide our Army in order to attack them on the North-west side of the Town by DenningtonCassle where most of our Foot who engaged the Enemy were of those who had been lately stripp'd by them in Cornwall Which Usage being fresh in their Memory caused them to charge with such Vigour that some of them ran up to their Cannon and clapped their Hats upon the Touch-holes of them falling so furioully upon the Enemy that they were not able to stand before them but were forced to quit their Ground and run under the shelter of Dennington-Castle leaving behind them several Pieces of Cannon besides many of their Men killed and taken Prisoners Those on our side commanded by the Earl of Manchester observing the Enemy to retreat in that disorderly manner on the other side thought it their Duty to endeavour to force their Passage on this and to that end our Horse and Foot with some Cannon were drawn into a bottom between Doleman's House and the Hill where our Guns were first planted Those at the little Houses and at the Breast-work fired thick upon us but our Foot ran up to the Houses and attacked the Enemy so vigorously that they were forced to retire to their Breast-work between which and Doleman's House our Men continued firing about an hour and half But finding many to fall and that there was no probability of doing any good they retreated leaving two Drakes behind them Our Horse had stood drawn up within a little more than Pistol-shot of the Enemies Works all the while our Foot were engaged for their Encouragement and Protection against any Horse that should attack them as also to second them in case they had made way I had divers Men and Horse shot and amongst the rest my own The Night coming on separated us when drawing off I perceived that my Major had secured his Troop in the Rear of all having taken care that all the Regiment might not be lost in one Engagement In the Night the Enemies removed their Cannon and other Carriages to Dennington-Castle where having lodged them they marched between our two Parties towards Oxford The next Morning we drew together and followed the Enemy with our Horse which was the greatest Body that I saw together during the whole Course of the War amounting to at least seven thousand Horse and Dragoons but they had got so much Ground of us that we could never recover sight of them and did not expect to see them any more in a Body that Year neither had we as I suppose if Encouragement had not been given them privately by some of our own Party Col. Norton's Regiment of Horse with some Foot being left to block up Basinghouse he desired to have more Force assigned him for the more effectual carrying on that Work and particularly my Regiment of Horse I was not ignorant of the Hardship of that Service it not being properly my Work who was raised by and for the County of Wilts yet having received an Order to that purpose from the General and sent my Major with part of the Regiment into Wiltshire for the Defence of that County I resolved to obey especially
considering that the Entercourse between London and the West was much interrupted by that Carison The Enemy contrary to all expectation appeared again in a Body near Newbury where our Army lay who drew out to oppose them Some small Skirmishes happened between them but a general Engagement was opposed in a Council of War by some of the greatest amongst us Whereupon the King in the face of our Army twice as numerous as his had time to send his Artillery from Dennington-Castle towards Oxford without any opposition to the Astonishment of all those who wished well to the Publick But by this time it was clearly manifest that the Nobility had no further Quarrel with the King than till they could make their Terms with him having for the most part grounded their Dissatisfactions upon some particular Affront or the prevalency of a Faction about him But tho it should be granted that their Intentions in taking Arms were to oblige the King to consent to redress the Grievances of the Nation yet if a War of this nature must be determined by Treaty and the King left in the Exercise of the Royal Authority after the utmost violation of the Laws and the greatest Calamities brought upon the People it doth not appear to me what Security can be given them for the future Enjoyment of their Rights and Privileges nor with what Prudence wise men can engage with the Parliament who being by Practice at least liable to be dissolved at pleasure are thereby rendred unable to protect themselves or such as take up Arms under their Authority if after infinite Hardships and Hazards of their Lives and Estates they must fall under the Power of a provoked Enemy who being once re-established in his former Authority will never want means to revenge himself upon all those who in Desence of the Rights and Liberties of the Nation adventure to resist him in his illegal and arbitrary Proceedings In the Council of War before-mentioned things were managed with such heat as created great Differences between the principal Officers of the Army by which this favourable Conjuncture was lost and the Season being far advanced the Army was dispersed into Winter-quarters The Blockade of Basinghouse was also ordered to be broken up after which I returned with those under my Command into the County of Wilts In the Winter the Parliament caused Abingdon to be fortified of which Place Col. Brown was Governour who holding Correspondence with the Lord Digby then Secretary to the King promised him that so soon as he had finished the Fortifications and received all things necessary from the Parliament to defend it he would deliver it to the King by which means he kept the King's Forces from interrupting him till he had perfected the Work But then as is probable by his Carriage since observing the Affairs of the Parliament in a better posture than those of the King he altered his Resolution and in desiance of the Lord Digby published the Correspondence that had been between them about that matter The Dissatisfaction that arose upon the permission given the King to carry off his Artillery rested 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all the House of Commons was made acquainted with it by Col. Cromwell who commanded under the Earl of Manchester whom he charged with the breach of his Trust but he and his Friends endeavoured to lay the blame on others the Earl of Essex and his Party adhering to the Earl of Manchester Whilst I was before Basing some of the Enemies under the Conduct of Col. Coke came to Salisbury and were sortifying the Close for the King of which Major Wansey having advice marched thither with the Forces which I had sent into Wiltshire and falling upon them caused them to retire in haste but finding the Gates fortified against him he set fire to them and seizing upon all their Horse took the Colonel and fourscore more Prisoners and sent them to Southampton At my Return into Wiltshire I received Orders from the Committee of both Kingdoms to send what Men I could spare out of my Regiment to reinforce a Party commanded by Major General Holborn who was ordered to march into the West to the Relief of Col. Blake besieged by the Enemy in Tauntoa I drew out two hundred Horse for that Service and was necessitated to march with them my self my Major who had got possession of good Quarters at Deane a House belonging to Sir John Evelyn being not willing to remove Col. Edward Popham Col. Starr Col. Brewin and Sir Anthony Ashley came from London with this Party In our March we were joined by the Forces of Dorsetshire When we were advanced near the Enemy my Troop was ordered to a Quarter of which they were in possession but quitted it upon our Approach as they did also the Siege soon after contrary to our expectation We made use of the Opportunity and furnished the Town with Provisions and all things necessary which being done the Forces of Wilts and Dorsetshire marched back to the said Counties Being returned to Salisbury I was informed that the Enemy had put a Garison into Langford-house two Miles from thence whereupon I resolved to fortify the Belfrey in the Close where I might keep a small Guard to secure it for a Horse-Quarter and to that end had summoned Workmen to perform that Work At Night having drawn up my Regiment in order to acquaint them with the necessity that lay upon them to be more than ordinarily diligent in their Duty at that juncture as also to divide their Watches between them and to appoint the Guard for that Night I received an Alarm of the Enemies Approach and that they were advanced as far as Amesbury Of which desiring to have certain Information I sent threescore Horse under the Command of Capt. Sadler the only Captain of my Regiment then with me some of them being absent with leave and others without to advance towards the Enemy till by taking of Prisoners or some other way he might get some certain Intelligence concerning them and then to come back to me With the rest of my Men I marched slowly after him being unwilling to retire into our Quarters till I had made a further Discovery concerning the Enemy Capt. Sadler according to his Instructions marched to Amesbury and sent me word from thence that he had advice the Enemy was not far off I sent to him to continue his March with the same Orders as before my self with the rest of the Regiment following and being come to Nether-Haven as I think it is called I received notice from Capt. Sadler that he had engaged an advanced Party of the Enemy and could not get off which unexpected News and contrary to my Orders caused me to advance with all Diligence to his Relief who had approached so near their main Guard as to give them an Alarm to draw together and yet had not pursued his Charge which if he had done he might easily have dispersed the Guard and prevented the
such as had served under Sir William Waller The Committee would have named me for the Command of a Regiment but the Gentlemen who served in Parliament for the County of Wilts pretended then that they could not spare me yet soon after observing me not fit to promote a Faction and solely applying my self to advance the Cause of the Publick they combined against me and procured me to be laid aside under colour that they stood not in need of more than four Troops for the Service of the County of which they offered me the Command and I should not have declined it had I found my Endeavours answered with sutable Acceptance or that they whom I served had been willing the Publick Cause for which I was ready to sacrifice my Life should prosper but the contrary being most evident and tho some of the Gentlemen continued to manifest their Fidelity to the Publick and their Affection to me yet most of them having now espoused another Interest and rejoicing at any Loss that fell upon ours I chose rather to desist and wait for a better Opportunity to improve my Talent for the Service of the Publick My Major notwithstanding his Artifices being disappointed in his Expectation to command these Troops openly pulled off the Mask and with about thirty of his Troop and some Strangers under pretence of beating up a Quarter of the Enemy went over to them having sent his Wife before to give them notice of his Design But his Lieutenant continuing faithful to the Publick hindred most part of his Troop from following him Soon after he undertook to raise a Regiment in the North Parts of Wiltshire for the King but whilst he was attempting to effect it an Encounter happened between him and some Forces of the Parliament wherein being worsted and endeavouring to save himself by leaping over a Ditch he fell with his Horse into it and was so bruised with his Fall that he never spoke more thereby receiving such a Recompence as was due to his Treachery About the same time that the Parliament made Sir Thomas Fairfax General of their Forces the King made Prince Rupert General of his notwithstanding his late ill Success at Marston-Moor to the great Dissatisfaction of many of his Council The Committee of Wilts divided themselves one part of them to sit at Malmsbury and the other to reside about Salisbury but wanting a Place for their Security they put a Garison into Falston-house and Capt. Edward Doyly contending with Major William Ludlow for the Government thereof the Committee at London gave it to the latter who with his Troop somewhat restrained the Excursions of the King's Party from their Garison thereabouts That part of the Committee which sat at Malmsbury having some Affairs to dispatch at Marlborough went thither accompanied by Col. Devereux Governour of the Place The first Night after their Arrival a Party of the King 's surprized them there and took some of the Committee with the said Governour and most of the Forces they had with them Prisoners The Parliament tho they were not wanting to make all fitting Preparations for War yet neglected no honest Endeavours to procure Peace assuring themselves that they should be the better enabled to bear whatsoever might be the Event of the War if they took care to discharge their Consciences in that Particular and to manifest that as they had been compelled to it by mere Necessity so if it must be continued it should not be through their Choice or Obstinacy To this end it was agreed that Commissioners should be sent from the Parliament to treat with others to be sent from the King about Conditions of Peace The Place of their Meeting was at Vxbridg where after the King had owned the two Houses as a Parliament to which he was not without difficulty perswaded tho he had by an Act engaged that they should continue to be a Parliament till they dissolved themselves which they had not done and consented that his Commissioners should treat in the same Quality they were in before the War the Commissioners of Parliament declining to give them the Titles conferred upon them since they made some Progress in the Treaty which began the 13 th of January 1645. but the Proposition concerning the Bishops being rejected it came to nothing During the Treaty Mr. Love one of the Chaplains attending the Commissioners of Parliament preaching before them averred That the King was a Man of Blood and that it was a vain thing to hope for the Blessing of God upon any Peace to be made with him till Satisfaction should be made for the Blood that had been shed For these Words the King's Commissioners demanded Satisfaction but the Treaty breaking up nothing was done in order thereunto And now both Parties renewed the War Weymouth being seized for the King and some Advantage obtained against the Parliament near Pomfret On the other side the Forces of the Parliament surprized the important Town of Shrewsbury whereby the King's Correspondence with Wales became much interrupted They also recovered Weymouth by the help of the Garison of Melcolm-Regis which is separated from the said Town by a small Arm of the Sea with a Bridg over it and which was preserved by the Industry of the Governour Col. Sydenham Col. Cromwell notwithstanding the Self-denying Ordinance was dispensed with by the Parliament and being impower'd to command the Horse under Sir Thomas Fairfax he marched with a Party of Horse and Dragoons from Windsar and at Islip-Bridg met fought and defeated the Queen's Regiment of Horse together with the Regiments of the Earl of Northampton the Lord Wilmot and Col. Palmer taking five hundred Horse and two hundred Foot Prisoners whereof many were Officers and Persons of Quality After which he summoned Blechington-house which was surrendred to him by Col. Windebank Son to the late Secretary of State who coming to Oxford was shot to death for so doing He forced Sir William Vaughan and Lieutenant Colonel Littleton with three hundred and fifty Men into Bampton-bush where he took them both and two hundred of their Men Prisoners with their Arms sending Col. Fiennes after another Party who took a hundred and fisty Horse three Colonels and forty private Souldiers Prisoners with their Arms and being reinforced by about five hundred Foot from Col. Brown he attempted Faringdon-house but without Success General Fairfax leaving Lieutenant General Cromwell to block up the King at Oxford with the Body of the Army marched Westward with a design to relieve Taunton but being ordered by the Committee of both Kingdoms to besiege Oxford he appointed Col. Welden to relieve that Town which he easily effected the Enemy marching off at his Approach apprehending them to be the whole Army marching against them as they before had been informed The King sent the Prince of Wales accompanied with Hyde and Culpeper into the West to raise Forces and despising the New Model as it was called because most of the old
what they could and were returned back again In this Action a Brother of my Father 's was mortally wounded taken Prisoner by the Enemy and died the next day Col. Cook was forced to content himself to reinforce the Besiegers and to return to his former Station The Army commanded by Sir Thomas Fairfax having left a strong Party to block up Exeter advanced Westward towards the Enemy and at Bovey Tracy fought the Brigade commanded by the Lord Wentworth took four hundred Horse and about a hundred Foot Prisoners with six Standards one of which was the King's Two Regiments of ours appeared before Dartmouth and summoned it but the Garison being numerous and furnished with all things necessary refused to surrender upon which the Army advancing possessed themselves of their Outworks and having turned their Cannon upon them two Forts distant about a Mile from the Town wherein were thirty four Pieces of Cannon and two Ships of War that were in the Harbour surrendred which the Governour understanding capitulated and delivered the Town upon Articles being permitted to march off himself but Sir Hugh Pollard the Earl of Newport Col. Seymour four Colonels with divers others were to remain Prisoners and a French Vessel coming into the Harbour not knowing what had passed was seized and Letters of Consequence found in her from the Queen The Prince of Wales who to countenance their Affairs had the name of General in the Western Parts finding their Affairs desperate shipped himself for Scilly leaving the Command of their Forces to Sir Ralph Hopton who was soon after summoned by General Fairfax to lay down his Arms and after several Messages four Commissioners on each side met at Tresilian-Bridg and came to an Agreement the Substance of which was to deliver up all their Arms Artillery and Ammunition except what was excepted by the Articles to be admitted to compound according to the Rates fixed by the Parliament and to have Liberty granted for such as desired it to go beyond Sea which Sir Ralph Hopton and some others did The People of Padstow seized a Ship coming from Ireland and perceiving a Letter floating in the Sea took it up and opening it found it to be from the Earl of Glamorgan therein acquainting the King's Party that six thousand Irish were ready to be embarked for their Assistance and that four thousand more should follow them in a short time Upon the dispersion of Sir Ralph Hopton's Army most of the Forts and tenable Places in the West procured the best Conditions they could for themselves Hereford was surprized on the 18 th of December by Col. Birch and Col. Morgan after it had been besieged for about two Months ineffectually by the Scots In this Place was taken that inveterate Enemy to the Parliament Serjeant Jenkins with some others In February following Byron the Governour of Chester surrendred that Place upon Terms The best Friends of the Parliament were not without fears what the Issue of their new Elections might be for tho the People durst not chuse such as were open Enemies to them yet probably they would such as were most likely to be for a Peace upon any Terms corruptly preferring the Fruition of their Estates and sensual Enjoyments before the Publick Interest which fort of Men were no less dangerous than the other and therefore honest Men in all Parts did what they could to promote the Election of such as were most hearty for the Accomplishment of our Deliverance judging it to be of the highest Importance so to wind up things that we might not be over-reach'd by our Enemies in a Treaty that had not been able to contend with us in open War To this end I endeavoured that my Uncle Mr. Edmund Ludlow might be chosen for the Borough of Hinden where tho he was elected and returned by the principal Burgesses and Bailiff yet the Rabble of the Town many of whom lived upon the Alms of one Mr. George How pretending that they had chosen the latter the Sheriff returned them both By this means Mr. How got first into the House but they being informed of the matter of Fact commanded him to withdraw till the Case should be decided by the Committee of Privileges Shortly after a Writ being issued out for the Election of two Knights to serve for the County of Wilts in the room of my Father who died in their Service and of Sir James Thynne who contrary to his Trust had deserted to the King at Oxford the Earl of Pembroke sent to me and acquainted me that he understood that the Country was inclined to chuse me to serve for one of their Knights in Parliament desiring me to endeavour that his second Son Mr. James Herbert might be chosen for the other promising that tho he was young yet he would undertake he should vote honestly for the Commonwealth I inform'd him that I knew nothing of the Intentions of the County to elect me but hoped that if they elected his Son he would make good his Promise His Son also entred into the like Engagement for himself At the Day appointed for the Election having had several Invitations so to do I attended according to Custom and the Words of the Writ which require the Candidates to be present at the Place of Election The Earl of Pembroke's Friends desired me to consent that his Son might have the first Voice which I did tho many of the Country Gentlemen were unwilling to permit it which done the County was pleased to confer the Trust upon me without any Opposition Some who were not present took it ill that I sent not to them to desire their Company which I excused assuring them that I had not sent to any Person having forborn so to do not out of any Disrespect to them or Confidence in my own Interest but out of a Sense of my own Inability to undertake so great a Charge as well as out of a Desire to have a clear and unquestionable Right to an Employment of such Importance When I came to the House of Commons I met with Col. Robert Blake attending to be admitted being chosen for Taunton where having taken the usual Oaths we went into the House together which I chose to do assuring my self he having been faithful and active in the Publick Service abroad that we should be as unanimous in the carrying it on within those Doors The Parliament being sensible that the King had corrupted those Forces that they had sent over to suppress the Rebellion in Ireland and that they had no great Assurance of the Lord Inchequin nominated the Lord Viscount Lisle Son to the Earl of Leicester and a Member of the House of Commons to be Lieutenant for Ireland looking upon him as the most considerable Person of Integrity they could think upon He procured the Liberty of Col. Monk then Prisoner in the Tower upon information that he had good Experience in that War and an Interest in the Souldiers there to which Mr.
Oath to perform that the King had broken this Oath and thereby dissolved our Allegiance Protection and Obedience being reciprocal that having appealed to the Sword for the Decision of the things in dispute and thereby caused the Effusion of a Deluge of the Peoples Blood it seemed to be a Duty incumbent upon the Representatives of the People to call him to an account for the same more especially since the Controversy was determined by the same means which he had chosen and then to proceed to the Establishment of an equal Commonwealth founded upon the Consent of the People and providing for the Rights and Liberties of all Men that we might have the Hearts and Hands of the Nation to support it as being most just and in all respects most conducing to the Happiness and Prosperity thereof Notwithstanding what was said Lieutenant General Cromwell not for want of Conviction but in hopes to make a better Bargain with another Party professed himself unresolved and having learn'd what he could of the Principles and Inclinations of those present at the Conference took up a Cushion and flung it at my Head and then ran down the Stairs but I overtook him with another which made him hasten down faster than he desired The next day passing by me in the House he told me he was convinced of the Desirableness of what was proposed but not of the Feasibleness of it thereby as I suppose designing to encourage me to hope that he was inclined to join with us tho unwilling to publish his Opinion lest the Grandees should be informed of it to whom I presume he professed himself to be of another Judgment Much time being spent since the Parliament had voted no more Addresses to be made to the King nor any Messages received from him and yet nothing done towards bringing the King to a Trial or the settling of Affairs without him many of the People who had waited patiently hitherto finding themselves as far from a Settlement as ever concluded that they should never have it nor any Ease from their Burdens and Taxes without an Accommodation with the King and therefore entred into a Combination through England Scotland and Ireland to restore him to his Authority To this end Petitions were promoted throughout all Countries the King by his Agents fomenting and encouraging this Spirit by all means possible as appeared by his intercepted Letters so that Lieutenant General Cromwell who had made it his usual Practice to gratify Enemies even with the Oppression of those who were by Principle his Friends began again to court the Commonwealth-Party inviting some of them to confer with him at his Chamber with which acquainting me the next time he came to the House of Commons I took the Freedom to tell him that he knew how to cajole and give them good Words when he had occasion to make use of them whereat breaking out into a Rage he said they were a proud sort of People and only considerable in their own Conceits I told him it was no new thing to hear Truth calumniated and that tho the Commonwealths-men were fallen under his Displeasure I would take the liberty to say that they had always been and ever would be considerable where there was not a total Defection from Honesty Generosity and all true Vertue which I hoped was not yet our Case The Earl of Warwick with the Fleet equipped for him by the Parliament sell down the River towards the Ships commanded by Prince Charles who presuming either that he would not fight him or perhaps come over to him lay some time in expectation but finding by the manner of his Approach that he was deceived in that Particular he thought it convenient to make all the sail he could for the Coast of Holland Our Fleet followed him as far as the Texel but according to the defensive Principle of the Nobility our Admiral thinking he had sufficiently discharged his Duty by clearing the Downs and driving the other Fleet from our Coast declined to fight tho he had an opportunity to engage Deal and Sandown Castles were reduced by Col. Rich and many of our revolted Ships not finding things according to their Expectation being constrained to serve under Prince Rupert instead of the Lord Willoughby who they desired might command them returned to the Obedience of the Parliament The Scots making all possible Preparations to raise an Army for the Restitution of the King Sir Thomas Glenham and Sir Marmaduke Langdale went to Scotland to join with them in that Enterprize and to draw what English they could to promote the Design The first of these seized upon Carlisle by order of the Scots tho contrary to their Articles whereupon the Parliament thinking it necessary to provide for the Security of Berwick placed a good Garison therein and resolving to reinforce the Militia of each County sent down some of their Members to give Life to the Preparations Amongst others I was appointed to go down to the County for which I served where we agreed to raise two Regiments of Foot and one of Horse In the mean time the Enemy was not idle and taking advantage of the Discontents of Capt. Poyer Governour of Pembroke they prevailed with him to revolt and declare for the King Other disaffected Parts of the Nation not yet ready for open Opposition acted with more Caution preparing and encouraging Petitions to the Parliament for a Personal Treaty with the King of which the Principal were Surrey Essex and Kent In Essex they met at Chelmsford in a tumultuous manner and seized Sir William Masham and other Members of Parliament who being ready to use all gentle Methods to prevent farther Inconveniences sent down Mr. Charles Rich second Son to the Earl of Warwick and Sir Harbottle Grimston two of their Members to endeavour to quiet that tumultuous Spirit with Instructions and Power to promise Indemnity to all that should desist from the prosecution of what they desired in this violent way which Commission they managed so well that upon their Promise to present the Requests of the Petitioners which were drawn up in writing to the Parliament and to return them an Answer the People of the Country dispersed themselves to their own Houses But the Sedition of the Surrey-men was not terminated so easily of whom many hundreds came to the doors of the Parliament and not being satisfied with the Answer the Parliament thought fit to give to their Petition after they had been heated with Drink and animated by the Cavalier Party they resolved to force from them another Answer and with intolerable Insolence pressed upon their Guard beating the Sentinels to the main Guard which was drawn up at the upper end of Westminster-Hall where they wounded the Officer who commanded them and being intreated to desist became more violent so that the Souldiers were necessitated in their own Defence and discharge of their Duty to fire upon them whereby two or three of the Country-men were
killed neither did this quiet them till some Horse and Foot arrived to strengthen the Guard and dispersed them Lieutenant Colonel Cobbet who commanded the Guard being called into the House to give an account of what had passed went to the Bar bleeding from the Wounds which he had received and related the Passages before-mentioned but some Friends of the Petitioners within doors informing the House that the matter of Fact was otherwise than had been represented by the Lieutenant Colonel the Parliament appointed a Committee to examine the Truth of it Those of the secluded Members who were in England being returned to the House divers hard Words passed between them and others of the Parliament and one day Commissary General Ireton speaking something concerning them Mr. Hollis thinking it to be injurious to them passing by him in the House whispered him in the ear telling him it was false and he would justify it to be so if he would follow him and thereupon immediately went out of the House with the other following him Some Members who had observed their passionate Carriage to each other and seen them hastily leaving the House acquainted the Parliament with their Apprehensions whereupon they sent their Serjeant at Arms to command their Attendance which he letting them understand as they were taking Boat to go to the other side of the Water they returned and the House taking notice of what they were informed concerning them enjoined them to forbear all Words or Actions of Enmity towards each other and to carry themselves for the future as Fellow-members of the same Body which they promised to do Lieutenant General Cromwell perceiving the Clouds to gather on every side complained to me as we were walking in the Palace-Yard of the Unhappiness of his Condition having made the greatest part of the Nation his Enemies by adhering to a just Cause But that which he pretended to be his greatest Trouble was that many who were engaged in the same Cause with him had entertained a Jealousy and Suspicion of him which he assured me was a great Discouragement to him asking my Advice what Method was best for him to take I could not but acknowledg that he had many Enemies for the sake of the Cause in which he stood engaged and also that many who were Friends to that Cause had conceived Suspicions of him but I observed to him that he could never oblige the former without betraying that Cause wherein he was engaged which if he should do upon the account of an empty Title Riches or any other Advantages how those Contracts would be kept with him was uncertain but most certain it was that his Name would be abominated by all good Men and his Memory be abhorred by Posterity On the other side if he persisted in the prosecution of our just Intentions it was the most probable way to subdue his Enemies to rectisy the Mistakes of those that had conceived a Jealousy of him and to convince his Friends of his Integrity that if he should fall in the Attempt yet his Loss would be lamented by all good Men and his Name be transmitted to future Ages with Honour He seemed to take well what I said and it might have been no Disservice to him if he had acted accordingly but his Design was rather to perswade me for the present of the Rectitude of his Intentions than to receive Counsel from me concerning his Conduct About this time we obtained some Advantages in Ireland where Col. Michael Jones who had been order'd by the Parliament to command at Dublin when the Earl of Ormond delivered it up with the Forces he had fought the Rebels tho double his Number at Dungon-hill killed some thousands of them and totally routed the rest Of which when the Parliament had received Information they ordered five hundred Pounds by Year of the forseited Lands in Ireland to be settled upon Col. Jones as a Reward for his good Service In England the Defection began to increase Capt. Henry Lilburn who commanded for the Parliament in Tinmouth-Castle which lies at the Mouth of the Harbour and is a Key to Newcastle declaring for the King but notice thereof being brought to Sir Arthur Haslerig at Newcastle of which Town he was Governour he with great Expedition drew down a Party before the Place and attacking it unexpectedly took it by Assault before the Men had been throughly confirmed in their Revolt by the Governour whom he put to the Sword and placed another Garison therein Many of those who had been for the Parliament in South-wales now joining with the King's Party they grew to be a considerable Body whereby Major General Laughern who upon some Suspicion had been under Confinement was encouraged to get away and join himself to them Major General John Stradling Sir Henry Stradling Col. Thomas Stradling and several other Gentlemen of those Parts falling in with them Col. Horton with about two thousand five hundred Horse Foot and Dragoons was sent into Wales to engage them Lieutenant General Cromwell following with as many more Forces as could be spared from the Army who being within three or four days March of Col. Horton received Advice that the Enemy to the number of about seven thousand had engaged the Colonel at St. Faggons in Glamorganshire that upon the first Attack our Forces gave ground but well considering the Danger they were in the Country being full of Enemies and encouraged by their Affection to the Cause wherein they were engaged they charged the Enemies Van consisting of the best of their Men with so great Bravery and Resolution that they forced them to give way which those that were in their Rear who were for the most part new-raised Men perceiving began to shift for themselves Upon this ours followed their Charge with so much Vigour and Success that the whole Body of the Enemy was soon routed and dispersed many of them were killed in the Pursuit and many taken Prisoners amongst the latter was Major General Stradling and divers other Officers The News of this Success was very welcome to all those that wished well to the Publick and proved a great Discouragement to the contrary Party The Petitioners of Surrey drew into a Body and in conjunction with the Kentish-men of the King's Party appointed their Rendezvouz upon Black heath But Sir Thomas Fairfax with that part of the Army which he had with him disappointed that Design by possessing himself of that Ground before them However the Enemy had brought together a considerable Body of Men many of whom were induced to come in upon Assurances given that they should be commanded by Mr. Hales a Gentleman of a great Estate in Kent tho afterwards the Lord Goring appeared at the Head of them as had been designed from the beginning Upon the Advance of Sir Thomas Fairfax his Army the Enemy who exceeded him in Number by one half at least divided their Body sending one part to possess themselves of Maidstone and
quarter to any Souldier Their Works and Fort were also stormed and taken and those that defended them put to the Sword also and amongst them Sir Arthur Ashton Governour of the Place A great Dispute there was amongst the Souldiers for his Artificial Leg which was reported to be of Gold but it proved to be but of Wood his Girdle being found to be the better Booty wherein two hundred Pieces of Gold were found quilted The Slaughter was continued all that day and the next which extraordinary Severity I presume was used to discourage others from making Opposition After that the Army besieged Wexford and having erected a Battery against the Castle which stood near the Wall of the Town and fired from it most part of the day whereby a small Breach was made Commissioners were sent in the Evening from the Enemy to treat about the Surrender of it In the mean time our Guns continued firing there being no Cessation agreed whereby the Breach in the Castle being made wider the Guard that was appointed to defend it quitted their Post and thereupon some of our Men entred the Castle and set up their Colours at the top of it which the Enemy having observed left their Stations in all parts so that ours getting over the Walls possessed themselves of the Town without Opposition and opened the Gates that the Horse might enter tho they could do but little Service all the Streets being barred with Cables But our Foot pressed the Enemy so close that crowding to escape over the Water they so over-loaded the Boats with their Numbers that many of them were drowned Great Riches were taken in this Town it being accounted by the Enemy a Place of Strength and some Ships were seized in the Harbour which had much interrupted the Commerce of that Coast. Commissioners were appointed by the Lieutenant General to take care of the Goods that were found in the Town belonging to the Rebels that they might be improved to the best Advantage of the Publick After these Successes the Army grew sickly many dying of the Flux which they contracted by hard Service and such Provisions as they were not accustomed to The Plague also which had been for some time amongst the Inhabitants of the Country and the Irish Army now began to seize upon ours Of one or both these Distempers Col. Michael Jones who by his Courage and Conduct in the Service of his Country had justly deserved the Applause of all and had been lately made Lieutenant General of the Horse by the Parliament feel so desperately sick that being no longer able to continue in the Army he was carried not without Reluctancy to Wexford where in a few days he died much lamented by the Army and by all that desired the Prosperity of the English Interest In the mean time the Parliament was careful to send Money Recruits and all manner of Supplies necessary to Ireland which they were the better enabled to do by those great Sums of Money daily brought in by the Purchasers of the Lands of Deans and Chapters which they thought fit for the Reasons before-mentioned to expose to sale which as it was an Advantage to the Nation in general by easing them of some part of their Contributions so was it no Detriment to any of those Purchasers who were heartily engaged in the Publick Service since if the Tide should turn and our Enemies become prevalent such Persons were likely to have no better Security for the Enjoyment of their own Paternal Estates Upon this Consideration I contracted with the Trustees commissionated by the Parliament for the Mannors of Eastknoel and Vpton in the County of Wilts wherein I employed that Portion which I had received with my Wife and a greater Sum arising from the Sale of a part of my Patrimonial Estate The Winter approaching and the Season being very tempestuous General Blake was obliged to enter into Harbour by which means Prince Rupert with the Ships that were with him having an Opportunity to escape set sail for Lisbon where they were received and protected but General Popham who had waited some time for the Portugal Fleet bound thither from the Islands took eighteen of them loaden with Sugars and other valuable Merchandizes which he sent to England under a Convoy entrusting the Conduct thereof to my Brother who as I said before was his Lieutenant and died in his Voyage homewards With the rest he continued cruizing on the Coast of Portugal attending Prince Rupert's Fleet which being drawn up under the Protection of their Guns and most of the Men on shore ours took that occasion to seize one of their Frigats by surprizing the Watch and keeping the rest of the Men under Deck by which means they brought her off safe to the Fleet. Our Army in Ireland tho much diminished by Sickness and harassed by hard Duty continued their Resolution to march into the Enemies Quarters where they reduced Rosse with little Opposition Goran also was surrendred to them together with the Officers of that Place by the Souldiers of the Garison upon promise of Quarter for themselves their Officers being delivered at Discretion were shot to death The next Town they besieged was Kilkenny where there was a strong Castle and the Walls of the Town were indifferent good Having erected a Battery on the East-side of the Wall our Artillery fired upon it for a whole Day without making any considerable Breach on the other side our Men were much annoyed by the Enemies shot from the Walls and Castle But the Garison being admonished by the Examples made of their Friends at Tredah and Wexford thought fit to surrender the Town timely upon such Conditions as they could obtain which was done accordingly Youghall Cork and Kinsale were delivered to the Forces of the Parliament by the Contrivance and Diligence of some Officers and well-affected Persons in those Places and thereupon the Lieutenant General sent a Detachment under the Command of the Lord Broghil to their Assistance in case any thing should be attempted by Inchequin or any other to their Disturbance whilst he with the rest of the Army marched towards Clonmel Being upon his March thither he was met by the Corporation of Feather with a Tender of their Submission wherewith the Lieutenant General was so satisfied the Army being far advanced into the Enemies Quarters and having no place of Refreshment that he promised to maintain them in the Enjoyment of their Privileges Having left our sick Men here he marched and sat down before Clonmel one side of which was secured by a River and the rest of the Town encompassed with a Wall that was well furnished with Men to defend it Our Guns having made a Breach in the Wall a Detachment of our Men was ordered to storm but the Enemy by the means of some Houses that stood near and Earth-works cast up within the Wall made good their Breach till Night parted the Dispute when the Enemy perceiving ours resolved to reduce
the Place beat a Parley and sent out Commissioners to treat Articles were agreed and signed on both sides whereby it was concluded that the Town with all the Arms and ammunition therein should be delivered up the next Morning to such of our Forces as should be appointed to receive the same After this Agreement was made and signed the General was informed that Col. Hugh O Neal Governour of the Place with all the Garison had marched out at the beginning of the Night towards Waterford before the Commissioners came out to treat It something troubled the Commanders to be thus over-reach'd but Conditions being granted they thought it their Duty to keep them with the Town Dungarvan and Carrick were next reduced where Col. Reynolds being left with his Regiment of Horse the Lieutenant General with the Army marched towards the County of Waterford The Enemy having observed ours marching on the other side of the River took that Advantage to draw together a considerable Body of Horse and Foot with which they marched with all diligence to Carrick and stormed it not at all doubting to carry the Place wherein there was nothing but Horse armed only with Swords and Pistols to defend a Wall of great compass Yet did our Men manage their Defence so well making use of Stones and whatsoever might be serviceable to them that the Enemy was beaten off with loss so that tho Forces were sent from the Army to relieve their Friends upon the first notice of their Danger yet they found the Work done at their Arrival The Army began now to prepare for the Siege of Waterford but by the hard Service of this Winter and other Accidents being much diminished and those that remained being but in a sickly Condition it was thought fit to send Orders to Dublin requiring the Forces there who were in better Health to march towards Wexford in order to reinforce the Army before Waterford The Lord Inchequin who had notice of their March having formed a Body of two thousand five hundred Horse and some Foot resolved to fall upon them which he did between Arclo and Wexford our Forces not amounting to more than fifteen hundred Foot and five hundred Horse The Enemies charged our Horse with such Fury and Numbers that they were forced to retreat to their Foot after which falling upon our Foot they obliged them to retire to the Rocks that were on the Shore in great Disorder but some of our Horse with a part of our Foot rallying again charged a Body of their Horse with such Vigour that they broke them and killed many of them amongst whom were divers considerable Persons which so discouraged the rest that tho they were the choicest of the Enemies Men and many of ours so distempered with the Flux that they were forced to fight with their Breeches down yet durst they not make any farther Attempt against them but drew off and permitted ours to march to their designed Rendezvouz without any more Interruption By which it eminently appeared of what Importance it is towards the obtaining Success to fight in the Cause of our Country for these very Men as long as they were engaged with us performed Wonders against the Rebels and now being engaged with them were almost as easily overcome as they had beaten the Irish before and this was so visible even to the Irish themselves that some time after at a Consultation of the Chief Officers of Leinster where it was debated what Course to take in order to destroy our Army some advising to draw into a Body and fight us others to betake themselves to the Woods and Bogs and from thence to break our Forces by Parties the Lord of Glanmaleiro assured them of a way which if taken would certainly effect it and that was to induce us to make Peace with them for said he they are a successful Army and our Men are dispirited and not likely to get any thing by fighting with them and to weary them out by our Surprizes and Depredations is impossible as long as the way from England is open for their Supplies but the other way proposed will infallibly ruin them for did not our Ancestors by the same means render the Conquests of Queen Elizabeth fruitless to England and have we not thereby ruined the Earl of Ormond and Inchequin already who having been always successful when against us have been famous for nothing since their Conjunction with us but the Losses and Repulses which they have sustained so that if we can perswade this Army to make a Truce or League with us they will become as unfortunate as the fornier Whilst the Lieutenant General was making Preparations for the Siege of Waterford a Letter was brought to him from the Parliament requiring his Attendance in England In order to which he left the Command of the Army with Commissary General Ireton to carry on the remaining part of the Work going himself to visit those Places in Munster which had lately submitted to the Parliament with intention to settle the Civil as well as Military Affairs of that Province To this end he impowered John Coke Esq to be Chief Justice of Munster and having accomplished such things as he designed embarked for England and soon after landed at Bristol In the mean time the Treaty between Prince Charles and the Presbyterian Party in Scotland hastening towards a Conclusion the Forces which they had raised by the Encouragement of our Army after they had rescued them from the Power of the Hamiltonian Party fell upon Montrose killed many of his Men and took him with divers other Officers Prisoners and amongst them Major General Hurry and Capt. Spotiswood who was said to have been concerned in the Assassination of Dr. Dorislaus our Agent in Holland They were all three condemned to death and hanged Montrose being carried to the Place of Execution in an ignominious manner with the Declarations issued out by him for the King tied about his Neck where he was executed on a Gibbet of thirty Foot high His Quarters were placed upon the Gate through which their King was to pass at his coming to Edinburgh which could not but move his Indignation if he had the least Sense of Honour because he had acted by his Commission and in order to vest him with that absolute and uncontrolable Power which Kings think to be most for their Advantage but the King being instructed with other Maxims struck up the bargain with the Presbyterians and engaged to take the Covenant whereupon they cried him up for a great Convert Some Sycophants in the English Parliament a Race of Men never wanting in great Councils pressed earnestly for settling two thousand five hundred Pounds a Year upon the Lieutenant General according to a Vote formerly passed in the House or that it might at least be read once or twice before his Arrival at Westminster he being then upon his way from Bristol Upon this Motion I took the liberty to acquaint the House
Having received Advice that the Enemy was marched out of Connaught and Limerick towards our Quarters in Munster he drew a Party of Horse and Foot out of their Winter-quarters to which they had been lately sent and with them endeavoured to find out the Enemy who upon his Advance retreated into their own Quarters The Deputy being returned was very careful to prepare all things that were necessary for the Army that they might be ready to march into the Field early the next Spring making Provision of Tents Arms Clothes and Bread for the Souldiers sending Cannon and Ammunition of all sorts up the Shannon towards Limerick by Vessels provided to that end that being the first Place which he designed to attack the following Year having in his last March by putting Garisons into Castle-Conel Kilmallock and other Places blocked them up in some measure The Commissioners of Parliament of whom the Deputy was one spent a considerable time in debating and resolving in what manner Justice should be administred for the present in each Precinct till the State of Affairs could be reduced into a more exact Order and accounting it most just that those who had the most immediate Advantage by the War should bear the principal Burden of it they laid upon the Nation of Ireland a Tax proportionable to their Ability for the raising of which together with the Excise and Customs that by our Authority from the Parliament we were impowered to impose we appointed Commissioners for the Precincts of Dublin Waterford Cork Clonmel Kilkenny and Vlster who were to proceed according to such Rules as they should receive from time to time from the Parliament's Commissioners The Governour of each Precinct was appointed one of the Commissioners of that Precinct Col. Hewetson being for Dublin Sir Charles Coote and Col. Venables for Vlster Col. Daniel Axtel for Kilkenny Col. Zanchey for Clonmel Col. Phaier for the County of Cork and Col. Laurence for the County of Waterford They appointed Col. Thomas Herbert and Col. Markham to be Inspectors over the rest and to go from place to place to see that their Instructions were put in execution Commissioners were also appointed in the several Precincts for the more equal Distribution of Justice and a Proclamation was published forbidding the killing of Lambs or Calves for the Year next ensuing that the Country might recover a Stock again which had been so exhausted by the Wars that many of the Natives who had committed all manner of waste upon the Possessions of the English were driven to such Extremities that they starved with Hunger and I have been informed by Persons deserving Credit that the same Calamity fell upon them even in the first Year of the Rebellion through the Depredations of the Irish and that they roasted Men and eat them to supply their Necessities In conjunction with this Evil they were also afflicted with the Plague which was supposed to have been brought amongst them by a Ship from Spain and bound to Galway from whence the Infection spread it self through most Parts of the Country and amongst others had reached Waterford where several died of it and particularly a Kinswoman of mine who having been driven out of Ireland with her Husband and Children at the breaking out of the Rebellion took the Opportunity to return thither with me and died there with one of her Children very suddenly having dined with me the day before The Spring approaching we removed to Kilkenny that Place lying most convenient for the distribution of Tents Clothes and all other things necessary for the use of the Army It was also near the Enemies Quarters and thereby thought most proper to favour any Attempt against them from thence Col. Reynolds who returned from England with us being made Commissary General of the Horse in Ireland was sent with a Party into the King and Queen's County and put a Garison into Marriborough appointing Major Owen to be Governour of the Place At his Return it was agreed that a Detachment from Nenagh where Col. Abbot commanded another from Cashil and those Parts and a third from Kilkenny should march from their respective Garisons and contrive it so as to sall upon the Quarters of Col. Fitzpatrick at the same time which were advantageously situated encompassed with Woods and Bogs and inaccessible except by three very narrow and difficult ways by which they were ordered to attack him separatcly This Enterprize was so well effected that the Place was taken with many of the Enemies Horse besides a great number of Men killed or made Prisoners At this time it happened that Col. Axtell than whom no Man was better acquainted with the Country of Ireland was accused for not performing some Conditions said to have been promised to the Enemy who pretended that after they had surrendred upon assurance of Mercy they were all put to the Sword except a few who made their Escape The Colonel endeavoured to prove that no Conditions had been granted that they were taken by Force and that they who had shewed no Mercy could not deserve to receive any Tho the Proof was not clear that he had promised them their Lives yet because it appeared that some of the Souldiers had thrown out some Expressions tending that way to the Enemy the Deputy was so great a Friend to Justice even where an Enemy was concerned that tho Col. Axtell was a Person extraordinarily qualified for the Service of that Conjuncture he together with the Council of War at which the Commissioners of the Parliament were also present suspended him from his Employment The Lord Broghil who had conceived great hopes of obtaining the Command of the Horse or at least to be made a General Officer well knowing his own Merit and thereupon thinking himself neglected made his Complaint to the Deputy in a Letter directed to him and sent unsealed in another to Adjutant General Allen wherein enumerating the Services he had done the Losses he had sustained and the slender Encouragements he had received he declared his Resolution not to obey the Commands of any other but of General Cromwell and him In answer to this the Deputy by another Letter acquainted him that he was sorry to find such a Spirit in him and particularly that he should discover it at such a time when the Season for Action was drawing on desiring him to come to the Head-quarters that they might confer together touching this Matter At his coming the Deputy consulted with the Commissioners what Course to take in this Affair I excused my self to them from giving my Advice his principal Objection being against me telling them I was convinced that he had some Ground for his Dissatisfaction by reason of his Interest and Experience in the Country I being in those respects much inferiour to him and should not have had the Confidence to have undertaken the Employment I possessed but in pure Obedience to those who were in Authority The Deputy assured me that they were abundantly satisfied
prevent all Exceptions I sent to Sir Charles Coote to desire him to let me know how the Matter stood and to direct them to deliver the Place to me Having received an Answer to my Letter from Sir Charles Coote I sent it to them telling them that now I expected their Obedience but instead of that they sent me a Defiance and sounded their Bagpipes in contempt of us to which they were chiefly encouraged by one of the Country whom I had sent to bring in to me some Iron Bars Sledges and Pickaxes and who under colour of going to setch them ran away to the Enemy and acquainted them with our want of Artillery and Instruments to force them I gave Orders to take up all the Horses from Grass to bridle and saddle them and to tie them to the Tents of their respective Troops commanding two Troops to mount the Guard and to send out Scouts to discover if any Enemy were near The rest of the Men I drew into several Parties and assigned them their particular Attacks Every Souldier carried a Fagot before him as well to defend himself as to fill up the Enemies Trenches or to fire the Gates as there should be occasion On one side of the Wall there was an Earth-work about eleven Foot high with a Trench of equal breadth without The Wall of the Court was about twelve Foot high well flanked On the other side the Place was secured by a River Upon our first Approach the Enemy shot very thick upon us and killed two of our Men which so enraged the rest that they ran up to the Works and helping one another to the top of them beat off the Enemy following them so close that by means of some Ladders which those within had made use of they got into the Court and put to the Sword most of those they found there the Enemy not daring to open the Gate to receive their Friends Those of ours who had entred the Court having no Instruments to force the House made use of a wooden Bar which they found and with which they wrested out the Iron Bars of a strong stone Window about six Foot from the Ground and forced the Enemy by their Shot out of that Room where being entred they put to the Sword those that were there Lieutenant Foliot finding his Case desperate resolved to sell his Life at as dear a rate as he could and charged our Men who were nine or ten in number with a Tuck in one hand and a Stilletto in the other defending himself so well with the one and pressing them so hard with the other that they all gave ground but he closing with one of them whom he had wounded and probably might have killed gave an opportunity to another to run him through the Body by which Wound he fell and the House was quickly cleared of the rest Most of the Principal of the Enemies being got into the Castle our Men fired a great number of Fagots at the Gates which burned so furiously that the Flame took hold of the Floors and other Timber within through the Iron Grate which being perceived by those in the Castle they hung out a white Flag begging earnestly for Mercy and that we would take away the Fire I commanded my Men to leave shooting and acquainted the Besieged that if they expected any Favour from us they must throw down their Arms which they presently did Whereupon I ordered the Fire to be taken away and gave a Souldier twenty Shillings to fetch out two Barrels of Powder that was near the Fire which continued to burn so fiercely that we could not put it out but were obliged to throw up Skains of Match into the Chambers by which those in the Castle descended to us being about fourscore in number besides many Women and Children We secured the Men till the next Morning when I called a Council of War and being pressed by the Officers that some of the Principal of them might be punished with Death for their Obstinacy I consented to their Demand provided it might not extend to such as had been drawn in by the Malice of others Those who were Tenants to Sir Dermot O Shortness and Country-men I dismissed to their Habitations upon promise to behave themselves peaceably and to engage against us no more the rest of them we carried away with us Whilst we were spending our time in sending to Sir Charles Coote and expecting his Answer I had sent a Party of Horse to find out some of the Enemies that were marched towards the Barony of Burren and tho they could not overtake them yet they met with sour or five hundred Head of Cattle and seized them which proved a great Refreshment to our Party and to the Army that was besieging Limerick whither we returned and gave an Account of our Proceedings to the Deputy who expressed himself well satisfied with the same At my Return I found that our Army had possessed themselves of one of the Enemies Forts that stood in the midst of the Shannon upon the Fishing Ware in this manner A small Battery of two Guns being erected against it one of them was fired into a Room and breaking the Leg of a Souldier there so frighted the rest that betaking themselves to their Boats they abandoned the Place which ours perceiving sired so thick upon them with their Shot that all those who were in one of the Boats whether moved by Fear or Promise of Life I know not surrendred to our Men yet some of them were put to the Sword at which the Deputy was much troubled judging that they would not have quitted the means they had in their hands for their Preservation but upon Terms of Advantage and therefore referred the Matter to be examined by a Court Martial Those in the Town having considered of the Summons sent to them by the Deputy for the Surrender of the Place agreed to treat concerning Articles supposing that they might obtain more favourable Conditions than when they should be driven to Extremities Accordingly six Commissioners were appointed on each side Those for the Enemy were Major General Purcel Mr. Stockdale Recorder of the Town Col. Butler Jeffrey Barrow who had been one of their Supreme Council Mr. Baggot and one more whose Name I do not remember The Commissioners nominated by the Deputy were Major General Waller Col. Cromwell Major Smith Adjutant General Allen my self and one more whom I have also forgot We met them in a Tent placed between the Town and our Camp where we dined together and treated of Conditions for several days but they having great Expectations of Relief either by the King's Success against us in Scotland or by the drawing together of their own Parties in Ireland who were able to form an Army more numerous than ours insisted upon such excessive Terms that the Treaty was broken up without coming to any Conclusion The Fort which we were preparing in order to block them up on one
side of the Town being almost finished and Materials ready for building a Bridg to be laid over the Shannon to preserve a Communication between our Forces on each side we resolved to endeavour the Reduction of a Castle possessed by the Enemy and standing beyond their Bridg. To that end a Battery was erected and a Breach being made the Deputy remembring the Vigour of the Troopers in the Action at Gourtenshegore desired that one might be drawn out of each Troop to be an Example to the Foot that were to storm which being done they were armed with Back Breast and Head-piece and furnished with Hand-Granadoes One Mr. Hacket a stout Gentleman of the Guard was made choice of to lead them on who were in all not above twenty This Design succeeded beyond Expectation for our Men having thrown in their Granadoes marched up to the Breach and entred with Mr. Hacket at the Head of them being followed by those who were ordered to sustain them The Enemy not being able to stand before them quitted the Place and retired by the Bridg into the Town The Castle was immediately searched and four or five Barrels of Powder were sound in a Vault ready to take fire by a lighted Match left there by the Enemy on purpose to blow up our Men. The Deputy gave Mr. Hacket and the rest of the Troopers a Gratuity for their good Service and upon the Encouragement of this Success formed a Design to possess himself of an Island that lay near the Town containing about forty or fifty Acres of Ground and encompassed by the River In order to which Boats were prepared and Floats sufficient to transport three hundred Men at once and Orders given to fall down the River about Midnight Three Regiments of Foot and one of Horse were appointed to be wasted over The first three hundred being all Foot were commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Walker who being landed on the Island with his Men marched up to the Enemies Breast-work which they had cast up quite round the Place but they having discovered our Men before their Landing had drawn most of their Forces together to oppose them so that being oppressed by the Enemies Numbers they were most of them forced into the Water and all either killed or drowned except two or three only who came back to the Camp Our Bridge being finished and a small Fort to defend it erected at the foot of it the Deputy with most part of the Army marched over to the other side of the River where he marked out Ground for three Bodies of Men to encamp separately each to consist of about two thousand giving Orders for the fortifying of those Places assigning to each Regiment their Proportion and quartering them by Brigades in the most convenient manner he could either to defend themselves to relieve each other or to annoy the Enemy and as soon as the great Fort on which our Men had been long working was rendred defensible he drew off all our Forces from this side of the River except a thousand Foot and about three hundred Horse In the mean time the Enemy was endeavouring to draw their Forces together to relieve the Place well knowing of what Importance it was to their Affairs To that end the Lord Muskerry had brought together about five thousand Horse and Foot in the Counties of Cork and Kerry and David Rock between two or three thousand more in the County of Clare The Lord Broghil and Major Wallis were sent to oppose the Lord Muskerry whilst I with another Detachment was ordered to look after the other The Lord Broghil soon met with the Lord Muskerry and after some Dispute entirely defeated him killing many of the Irish and taking others Prisoners with little loss on our side I passed the River at Inchecroghnan of which the Enemy having advice drew off their Forces from Caricgoholt a Garison of ours which they were besieging whereby Capt. Lucas who was Governour of the Place wanting Provisions took that opportunity to quit it and being joined by Capt. Taff's Dragoons came safe to us Whilst I was endeavouring to find out the Enemy Advice was brought to me that they to the number of three thousand Horse and Foot were marching with all diligence to possess themselves of the Pass at Inchecrohgnan thereby designing to obstruct our Return to the Army before Limerick which being confirmed by a Letter we intercepted I drew out two hundred and fifty Horse with sixty Dragoons and sent them before with Orders to take possession of the Pass marching after them with the rest of my Party When I was almost come to the Pass I was informed by those sent before that they had found a small number of the Enemies Horse there who immediately retreated upon the advance of our Men some of whom were in pursuit of them Presently after Advice was brought that the Enemy made good a Pass leading to some Woods and Bogs which they used sor a Retreat whereupon I went to take a view of their Posture that if it were necessary I might order a greater Force to succour our Men. Being come up to the Place where the Dispute was I found that Connor O Brian deputed by the Lord Inchequin to command in the County of Clare had been shot from his Horse and carried away by his Party The Enemy retreated to a Pass and fired thick upon us but we advancing within Pistol-shot of them they quitted their Ground and betook themselves to their Woods and Bogs Divers of them were killed in the Pursuit yet the Ground was so advantagious to them and their Heels so good that tho we pursued them with all possible diligence and sent out Parties several ways yet we could not take above two or three of them Prisoners Having dispersed this Party and relieved the Garison of Caricogoholt I returned to the Army before Limerick where I found a considerable Progress made in our Works on the other side of the Town and a Reinforcement from England of between three and four thousand Foot whose Arrival was very seasonable and welcome to us having lost many Men by hard Service change of Food and alteration of the Climate The Deputy fearing that the Plague which raged fiercely in Limerick might reach our Army and to the end that care might be taken of our sick and wounded Men caused an Hospital to be prepared and furnished with all things necessary and whilst the Works were finishing against the Town he went to visit the Garison of Killalo and to order a Bridg to be made over the River at that Place for the better Communication of the Counties of Tipperary and Clare I accompanied him in this Journey and having passed all Places of Danger he left his Guard to refresh themselves and rode so hard that he spoiled many Horses and hazarded some of the Men but he was so diligent in the Publick Service and so careless of every thing that belonged to himself that he never regarded what
Crawford and others were met at Elliot to consult of means to relieve that Town he sent a Party of Horse and Dragoons commanded by Col. Alured and Col. Morgan to surprize them which they did and the principal of them being taken were sent Prisoners to London where they were committed to the Tower After this he summoned the Town of Dundee but the Place being well fortified and provided with a numerous Garison refused to surrender whereupon he storm'd it and being entred put five or six hundred to the Sword and commanded the Governour with divers others to be killed in cold Blood Tho the News of these Successes much discouraged our Enemies in Ireland yet those in Limerick were not without some hopes that either the Plague or Scarcity of Provisions together with the badness of the Weather might constrain us to raise the Siege and therefore resused to accept such Conditions as we were willing to grant The Line which we had made about the Town and the Forts being in a condition of Defence the Deputy resolved to look after the Enemy in the County of Clare and if possible to get some Provisions from thence for the Relief of the Army He took me with him knowing I had been in those Parts before and between three and four thousand Horse and Foot At our Approach to the Places where the Enemies usually were we divided our Body the Deputy being at the Head of one and I at the Head of the other Party hoping by this means so to encompass the Enemy that they should not escape us but tho we sometimes came within sight of them and used our utmost Endeavours to engage them yet by reason of the Advantages they made of the Woods Rocks Hills and Bogs for their Retreat we could do them little hurt save by seizing their Horses and Cattel In the absence of this Party from the Army the Enemy with two thousand Foot made a Sally out of Limerick so unexpectedly upon our Men that they had almost surprized our Guard of Horse but ours immediately mounting and being not accustomed to be beaten charged them and notwithstanding the Inequality of the Forces they being much superiour to us in Number put them to a stand till a Party of Horse and Foot came to their Relief and forced the Enemies to retreat under the Walls of the Town from whence their Men fired so thick upon ours that their own Men had time to get into the Town When this Account was brought from Sir Hardress Waller to the Deputy he was upon his Return to the Army before Limerick having left me with about two thousand Horse and Foot as well to ease our Quarters about the Town not knowing how long we might lie before it as to endeavour to perswade the Garison of Clare-Castle a strong Place and situated upon the River to surrender To that end being arrived in the Army he sent one Lieutenant Colonel White who had served the Enemy and now had a Commission to raise Forces for the King of Spain with an Order to me to permit him to go to the said Garison that he might inform them of the Impossibility of their receiving any Relief and of the Necessities to which Limerick was already reduced and thereby prevail with them to make speedy provision for themselves and to list under him but his Design proving ineffectual I found my self obliged to return to the Camp before Limerick where we made provision for a Winter-Siege Great Numbers of People endeavoured to get out of the Town sent out by the Garison either as useless Persons or to spread the Contagion amongst us The Deputy commanded them to return and threatned to shoot any that should attempt to come out for the future But this not being sufficient to make them desist he caused two or three to be taken out in order to be executed and the rest to be whipped back into the Town One of those that were to be hanged was the Daughter of an old Man who was in that number which was to be sent back He desired that he might be hanged in the room of his Daughter but that was refused and he with the rest driven back into the Town After which a Gibbet was erected in the sight of the Town-Walls and one or two Persons hanged up who had been condemned for other Crimes that those within might suppose that Execution to be for coming out and by this means they were so terrified that we were no farther disturbed on that account The Deputy upon Information received that some in the Town were desirous to surrender and that others did violently oppose them endeavoured by Letters and Messages to foment the Division declaring against several Persons by name that were most active and obstinate for holding out that they should have no Benefit by the Articles to be agreed upon severely inveighing against a Generation of Men whom he called Souldiers of Fortune that made a trade of the War and valued not the Lives or Happiness of the People This wrought the desired effect and so encouraged the complying Party that it was carried for a Treaty and Commissioners again appointed on each side We insisted that about seventeen of the principal Persons in the Place should be excepted out of the Articles of which number were Col. Hugh O Neal the Governour the Mayor of the City the Bishops of Limerick and Emmene Major General Purcel Sir Geoffrey Galloway Sir Jeffrey Barrow one Wolf a Priest Sir Richard Everard and others But these made so strong a Party that the Treaty was broke up without any Agreement and no other way left to reduce them but by Force In order to which the Deputy caused the great Guns to be landed from the Ships and others to be brought from the adjacent Garisons With these he erected a Battery against the Town in the most convenient Place that could possibly have been found being against a part of the Wall which tho it was of the same Height and Thickness with the rest of it and also as well flanked yet it proved not to be lined with Earth within as all the other Parts were nor had any Counterscarp without In the mean time the Parliament seeing a Period put to the War in England and Scotland and that of Ireland drawing towards a Conclusion resolved to gratify such Officers as the General recommended to their Favour and thereupon settled a thousand Pounds yearly on Major General Lambert three hundred on Major General Overton the same on Col. Pride and Col. Whalley five hundred Pounds annually on Commissary General Reynolds a thousand Pounds per annum on the Lord Broghil They also settled four thousand Pounds a Year on the Lord General himself out of the Estates of the Duke of Buckingham and Marquiss of Worcester besides the two thousand five hundred Pounds a Year formerly granted This they did to oblige him by all means possible to the performance of his Duty or to leave
him without excuse if he should depart from it They ordered also an Act to be brought in for settling two thousand Pounds per annum on the Lord Deputy Ireton the News of which being brought over was so unacceptable to him that he said They had many just Debts which he desired they would pay before they made any such Presents that he had no need of their Land and therefore would not have it and that he should be more contented to see them doing the Service of the Nation than so liberal in disposing of the Publick Treasure And truly I believe he was in earnest for as he was always careful to husband those things that belonged to the State to the best Advantage so was he most liberal in employing his own Purse and Person in the Publick Service Our Battery being now in order and the Regiments that were appointed to storm disposed to their several Posts we began to fire directing all our Shot to one particular part of the Wall wherein we made such a Breach that the Enemy not daring to run any farther Hazard beat a Parley and soon came to a Resolution to surrender upon the Articles we had offered before delivering up the East-gate of the out-Town which was separated by a River having a Draw-bridg over it from the other Town The Deputy ordered all the Arms and Ammunition to be carefully preserved and the Souldiers who were not of the Town to be drawn up between the Place and our Army that such as desired it might have Convoys to conduct them to their respective Parties and that those who would return to their Habitatious might have Passes granted to that effect The Governour Col. Hugh O Neal met the Deputy at the Gate where he presented him with the Keys of the City and gave order for the marching out of the Souldiers who were not Townsmen according to the Articles They were in number about two thousand five hundred Men. As they were marching out two or three of them fell down dead of the Plague Several of them also lay unburied in the Church-yard The Governour waited on the Deputy to shew him the Stores of Arms Ammunition and Provisions which were sufficient to have lasted near three Months longer He shewed him also the Fortifications and whatsoever else he desired of him withal acquainting him that nine or ten of those who were excepted from the Benefit of the Articles had surrendred themselves to his Mercy and were waiting his Orders in a certain House which he named Upon which the Deputy commanded a Guard to be set upon them and committed the Governour also to their Custody The Bishop of Emmene and Major General Purcel with Wolf the Priest were taken in the Pest-house where they had hid themselves Jeffery Barrow and Sir Geoffrey Galloway surrendred themselves Two days after the Delivery of the Town the Mayor came to the Place of Worship where our Court of Guard was met and whether by his Words or Actions he gave cause of Suspicion I cannot tell but they seized him and upon Examination found who he was whereupon they committed him to Prison The Bishop of Limerick was the only Person excepted that was yet undiscovered but we afterwards understood him to be one of a more peaceable Spirit than the rest A Court Martial was assembled and the Bishop of Emmene with Major General Purcel required to acquaint them if they had any thing to say why they should not die according to the Sentence passed upon them The Bishop said that having many Sins to confess he desired time to prepare himself to that purpose which was granted Major General Purcel fell upon his Knees and begged earnestly for his Life but that was denied This poor Man was of so low a Spirit that wanting Courage at the time of his Execution he stood in need of two Musqueteers to support him The Bishop died with more Resolution and Wolf the Priest was also executed The Governour and Jeffrey Barrow were also condemned to die but the Deputy resolving to hear them demanded of the Governour what he had to say for himself who answered that the War had been long on foot before he came over that he came upon the Invitation of his Country-men that he had always demeaned himself as a fair Enemy and that the ground of his Exception from the Articles being his encouraging to hold out tho there was no hope of Relief was not applicable to him who had always moved them to a timely Surrender as indeed he made it appear and therefore hoped that he should enjoy the Benefit of the Articles in confidence of which he had faithfully delivered up the Keys of the Town with all the Arms Ammunition and Provisions without Embezlement and his own Person also to the Deputy But the Blood formerly shed at Clonmel where this Col. O Neal was Governour had made such an Impression on the Deputy that his Judgment which was of great weight with the Court moved them a second time to vote him to die tho some of us earnestly opposed it for the Reasons before mentioned by himself and because whatsoever he had been guilty of before had no relation to these Articles which did not at all exempt him from being called to an account by the Civil Magistrate for the same The Court having passed Sentence of Death a second time against him the Deputy who was now entirely freed from his former manner of adhering to his own Opinion which had been observed to be his greatest Infirmity observing some of the Officers to be unsatisfied with this Judgment referred it again to the Consideration of the Court who by their third Vote consented to save his Lise Jeffrey Barrow having the same Question put to him with the rest answered that it was not just to exclude him from Mercy because he had been engaged in the same Cause as we pretended to sight for which was for the Liberty and Religion of his Country The Deputy replied That Ireland being a Conquered Country the English Nation might with Justice assert their Right of Conquest That they had been treated by the late Government far beyond their Merits or the Rules of Reason notwithstanding which they had barbarously murdered all the English that fell into their hands robbed them of their Goods which they had gained by their Industry and taken away the Lands which they had purchased with their Money That touching the Point of Religion there was a wide Difference also between us we only contending to preserve our natural Right therein without imposing our Opinions upon other Men whereas they would not be contented unless they might have Power to compel all others to submit to their Impositions upon pain of Death The Council of War looking upon what he had said for himself to be hereby fully refuted adjudged him to die as they did the Mayor also and the Sentence was executed accordingly Limerick being taken it was debated in a Council
Enemy And because the Propositions offered by the late Lord Deputy to those of Galway had been no farther prosecuted by reason of his Death Orders were dispatched to Sir Charles Coote authorizing him to conclude with them in case they should accept the Conditions at or before the ninth of the next January According to their Orders the Officers met at Kilkenny by whom being informed of what they thought necessary for the ensuing Service we acquainted the Parliament and Council of State with the Particulars of such things as were requisite desiring them to send them over with all convenient speed that no time might be lost when the Season of the Year should permit us to take the Field We published two Proclamations to prevent the Country from supplying the Enemy with Arms and other Necessaries wherein drawing a Line as it were about the Irish Quarters we required all Persons to withdraw themselves and their Goods from the places of their resort within a limited time which if they refused to do we declared them Enemies and ordered all Officers and Souldiers to treat them accordingly commanding also all Smiths Armourers and Sadlers that lived in the Country to retire in twenty days with all their Families Forges and Instruments into some Garison of the Parliament on pain of forfeiture of their Goods and Tools besides six months Imprisonment for the first Offence and of Death for the second We ordered also that all those who had withdrawn themselves out of our Protection and joined with the Enemy since the coming over of General Cromwell should be deprived of the benefit of Quarter Having published these and other Orders of the like tenour we appointed the Lord Broghil Commissary General Reynolds Sir Hardress Waller Colonel Axtel and the rest of the Officers to cause them to be put in execution as occasion should require Having finished our Affairs at Kilkenny and dismissed the Officers to their respective Quarters I resolved to go to Portumna to make all things ready for the Siege of Galway Being on my March on the other side of Nenagh an advanced Party found two of the Rebels one of whom was killed by the Guard before I came up to them the other was saved and being brought before me at Portumna and I asking him if he had a mind to be hanged he only answered If you please so insensibly stupid were many of these poor Creatures The Commissioners having done their business in this Place and given Directions for the carrying on the Siege of Galway with Power to treat as before mentioned to Sir Charles Coote we returned to Dublin and at our arrival were informed that the Barony of Bâ—rren relying upon the security of their places of Retreat had refused to pay the Contributions which they had promised upon which Sir Hardress Waller had been obliged to lay the Country waste and to seize what he could find that it might be no longer useful to the Enemy We had advice also from Vlster that some of our Troops had killed and drowned about a hundred and forty Tories who infested that Province with their Robberies The time limited by the Proclamation requiring the Irish to withdraw from the places mentioned therein being expired I marched with a Party of Horse and Foot into the Fastnesses of Wicklo as well to make Examples of such as had not obeyed the Proclamation as to place a Garison there to prevent the Excursions of the Enemy Talbot's Town was the Place I thought fittest for that end which having rendred defensible against any sudden attempt and furnished with all things necessary I marched farther into the Country The next morning I divided my Men into three Parties sending away Colonel Pretty with one of them to his own Quarters lest the Enemy should fall upon them in his absence with the other two we scoured by different ways the Passes and Retreats of the Irish but met not with many of them our Parties being so big that the Irish who had Sentinels placed upon every Hill gave notice of our March to their Friends so that upon our Approach they still fled to their Bogs and Woods When I came to Dundrum a Place lying in the heart of the Enemy's Quarters I perceived the Walls and Roof of an old Church standing wherein I placed Captain Jacob with his Company who was afterwards very serviceable against the Enemy The like Methods being taken by the Lord Broghil Colonel Zanchey Colonel Abbot and other Officers the Irish were reduced to great Extremities About fourscore of the Inhabitants of Galway went privately out of the Town and seizing a hundred Head of Cattel designed to drive them thither but being upon their Return they were met by a Party of ours who killed threescore of them and recovered all the Cattel This Disappointment was attended with another much greater for two Vessels loaden with Corn endeavouring to get into the Harbour of Galway being pursued by two of our Frigats one of them was taken and the other forced upon the Rocks near the Isle of Arran where she was lost The Parliament having received an Account of the hopeful Condition of their Affairs in Ireland and of the great Appearance there was of a speedy Determination of that War appointed a Committee to summon before them those Adventurers who in the Year 1641 had advanced Monies upon the Lands in Ireland The said Persons being met at Grocers-Hall chose twenty eight Deputies to manage the Business with the Committee in the Names of all the rest In conformity to this Proceeding the Commissioners of Parliament in Ireland began to consider of Qualifications and Heads under which the Irish should be brought that the Innocent might be freed from their Fears and Apprehensions that Justice might be done and the Guilty punished according to the different nature of their Crimes Of which the Irish having notice and considering the declining Condition of their Affairs in all Parts sent a Letter directed to the Commissioners of the Parliament of England from the Principal as they called themselves of the Kingdom of Ireland and subscribed by Gerald Fitz-Gerald on the behalf of their Assembly held at Glanmaliero in the Province of Leinster representing That being advised that the Commonwealth of England is in a condition to give honourable and sure Terms to them they are in an entire Disposition to receive them and to that effect desire in the Name of that and the rest of the Provinces a safe Conduct for every one of them with Blanks subscribed to that end that they may impower and send some of their Members to present Propositions to the Commissioners that are or should be authorized to that purpose To this the Commissioners answered in substance That tho the Letter was subscribed by one under the pretext of an Authority which they could not own without prejudice to that of the Parliament yet for the satisfaction of those concerned they thought fit to declare That the Establishment of this
with the Clearness of my Proceeding and no less of my Abilities to discharge the Trust reposed in me and to perform the Duties of my Employments of which he was pleased to say I had given sufficient Demonstration as well as of a constant and hearty Affection to the Publick Interest In conclusion the Debate concerning the Lord Broghill was brought to this Question Whether he should be wholly laid aside or whether something should be done in order to content him for the present by conferring upon him some Office of Profit and the Title of a General Officer The latter was agreed upon and he declared Lieutenant General of the Ordinance in Ireland The Commissioners having settled Affairs as well as they could and finding the Deputy to be employed in making all necessary Preparations for the ensuing Service took that Opportunity to go to regulate Affairs at Dublin where after they had dispatched the Publick Business in which they spent about a Week and provided Houses to receive their Families when they should arrive from England they returned to Kilkenny The Enemy who had a Party of Horse in those Parts had designed to surprize them in their way to Dublin and again in their Return to us but finding them attended by a strong Guard they durst not venture to attempt it The Enemies Forces being retreated into Connaught which Province was covered by the Shannon and keeping strong Guards upon the Bridges and Fords of that River the Reduction of Limerick could not well be expected till we had blocked them up on both sides In order to which it was resolved that Sir Charles Coote who had with him between four and five thousand Horse and Foot should march into Connaught by the way of Ballyshannon a Passage on the side of Ulster not far distant from the Sea and Commissary General Reynolds was sent with his Regiment of Horse to his Assistance Col. Axtell and some others about this time going for England were taken by a Pirate belonging to Scilly whither they were all carried Prisoners The Irish who were many in the Island against whom Col. Axtell had been very active and who had heard of the Charge lately exhibited against him pressed hard for the taking away his Life But upon consideration of the Preparations making by the Parliament to send a Fleet with Souldiers to reduce that Island it was not thought convenient to attempt any thing against him tho they had a strong Inclination to it for fear of an exemplary Retaliation In the mean time the Parliament sent a Fleet with some Land-Forces to reduce the Isle of Jersey with the Castle which was kept by Sir Philip Carteret for Prince Charles Col. Haines who commanded them met with some Opposition at his landing but having brought his Men ashore the Island generally submitted to the Parliament The Castle having made some Resistance was soon after surrendred also The Affairs of the Commonwealth being thus successful and their Authority acknowledged by the Applications of Agents and Ambassadors from Foreign Nations to them it was resolved to send some Ministers abroad to entertain a good Correspondence with our Neighbours and to preserve the Interests of the Subjects of this Nation in those Parts To that effect the Lord Chief Justice St. Johns was dispatched with the Character of Ambassador Extraordinary to the States of the United Netherlands with whom Mr. Walter Strickland our Resident there was joined in Commission and to prevent such another Attempt as had been made upon our former Agent forty Gentlemen were appointed to attend him for his Security and Honour ten thousand Pounds being delivered to the Lord Ambassador's Steward for the Expence of the Embassy Yet this great Equipage was not sufficient to prevent a publick Affront which was offered him by Prince Edward one of the Palatine Family as he was passing the Streets But the Prince immediately retiring to some Place out of the Jurisdiction of the States secured himself from any Prosecution tho they pretended upon the Complaint of our Ambassadors that they were ready to do them what Right they could The Negotiation of our Ministers which was designed to procure a nearer Conjunction and Coalition between the two States proved also ineffectual the Province of Holland being not so much inclined to consent to it as was expected and Frizeland with most of the rest of the Provinces entirely against it presuming that such a Conjunction as was demanded would be no less than rendring those Countries a Province to England So that our Ambassadors having used all possible means to succeed in their Business and finding the Dutch unwilling to conclude with us whilst the King had an Army in the Field returned to England without effecting any thing but the Expence of a great Sum of Money This Disappointment sat so heavy upon the haughty Spirit of the Lord Chief Justice St. Johns that he reported these Transactions with the highest Aggravations against the States and thereby was a principal Instrument to prevail with the Council of State to move the Parliament to pass an Act prohibiting foreign Ships from bringing any Merchandizes into England except such as should be of the Growth or Manufacture of that Country to which the said Ships did belong This Law tho just in it self and very advantageous to the English Nation was so highly resented by the Dutch who had for a long time driven the Trade of Europe by the great Number of their Ships that it soon proved to be the Ball of Contention between the two Nations During these Transactions the Deputy of Ireland labouring with all diligence to carry on the Publick Service ordered the Army to rendezvouz at Cashil from whence he marched by the way of Nenagh to that part of the River Shannon which lies over against Killalo where the Earl of Castle-haven lay with about two thousand Horse and Foot disposed along the side of the River and defended by Breast-works cast up for their Security resolving to endeavour to obstruct our Passage into Connaught The Deputy as if he had intended to divert the Course of the River set the Souldiers and Pioneers at work to take the Ground lower on our side that the Water venting it self into the Passage the River might become fordable which so alarmed the Enemy that they drew out most of their Men to oppose us Whilst they were thus amused the Deputy taking me with him and a Guard of Horse marched privately by the side of the Shannon in order to find a convenient place to pass that River The ways were almost impassable by reason of the Bogs tho Col. Reeves and others who commanded in those Parts had repaired them with Hurdles as well as they could Being advanced about half way from Killalo to Castle-Conel we found a place that answered our Desires where a Bridg had formerly been with an old Castle still standing at the foot of it on the other side of the River We took only a short