Battle of Edgehill
The Parliamentarian left wing consisted of a loosely organised cavalry brigade of twenty unregimented troops under Sir James Ramsay, supported by musketeers and several cannon. They were deployed behind a hedge.
Their centre consisted of three brigades of infantry. Because some of Essex's infantry were not present, Essex reinforced the weaker right flank of his infantry by moving two cavalry regiments under Sir William Balfour and Sir Philip Stapleton from his right wing to behind the infantry. This was to be important in the coming battle.
This left only a single regiment of cavalry under Lord Feilding, supported by musketeers and dragoons, on the right wing, posted on some rising ground.
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The battle
As Essex showed no signs of wishing to attack, the Royalists began to descend the slope of Edgehill some time after midday. Even when they had completed this manoevre at about two o'clock, the battle did not begin, until the sight of the King with his large entourage riding from regiment to regiment to encourage his soldiers, apparently goaded the Parliamentarians into opening fire. [5]
The King's party withdrew out of range and an artillery duel took place. The Royalist guns were comparatively ineffective as most of them were deployed some way up the slope, and from this height most of their shot plunged harmlessly into the earth. While the bombardment continued however, the Royalist dragoons advanced on each flank and drove back the Parliamentarian dragoons and musketeers covering their wings of horse.
At last, Rupert gave the order to attack. As his charge gathered momentum, a troop of Parliamentarian horse under Faithfull Fortescue abruptly defected. The rest of Ramsay's brigade apparently gave an ineffectual volley of pistol fire from the saddle before turning to flee. Rupert's and Byron's troopers rapidly overran the enemy guns and musketeers on this flank and galloped jubilantly in pursuit of Ramsay's men.
Wilmot charged about the same time on the other flank. Feilding's outnumbered regiment quickly gave way, and Wilmot and Digby also chased them to Kineton where the Royalist horse fell out to loot the Parliamentarian baggage.
The Royalist infantry also advanced in the centre. Many of the Parliamentarian foot had already run away as their cavalry disappeared, and others fled as the infantry came to close quarters. The brigades of Sir Thomas Ballard and Sir John Meldrum nevertheless stood their ground. Without any Royalist cavalry to oppose them, the Parliamentarian horse under Stapleton and Balfour now charged the Royalist infantry and put many units to flight.
The King had left himself without any proper reserve. As his centre gave way, he ordered one of his officers to conduct his sons Charles and James to safety while he himself tried to rally his infantry. Some of Balfour's men charged so far into the Royalist position that they menaced the princes' escort and briefly overran the Royalist artillery before withdrawing. [6] In the front ranks, Lord Lindsey was killed, and Sir Edmund Verney died defending the Royal Standard, which was captured by Parliamentarian Ensign Arthur Young.
By this time, some of the Royalist horse had rallied and were returning from Kineton. Some of them recaptured the Royal Standard as it was being taken to the rear as a trophy. As they reformed on the flanks, and as evening drew on, Essex ordered his men to break off the battle.
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Outcome
Both sides held their positions during the night, which was very cold. This has been suggested as the reason why many of the wounded survived, as the cold allowed many wounds to congeal, saving the wounded from bleeding to death or succumbing to infection.
The following day, both armies formed up again, but neither was willing to resume the battle. Charles sent a herald to Essex with a message of pardon if he would agree to the King's terms, but the messenger was roughly handled and forced to return without delivering his message. Although Essex had been reinforced by some of his units which had lagged behind on the march, he withdrew on October 25 to Warwick Castle, abandoning seven guns on the battlefield.
This allowed the King to move directly on London. Rupert urged this course, and was prepared to undertake it with his cavalry alone. With Essex's army still intact, Charles chose to move more deliberately, with the whole army. After capturing Banbury on October 27, Charles advanced via Oxford, Aylesbury and Reading. Essex meanwhile had moved directly to London. Reinforced with the London Trained Bands and many citizen volunteers, he would prove to be too strong for the King to contemplate another battle when the Royalists advanced to Turnham Green. The King withdrew to Oxford, which he made his capital for the rest of the war. With both sides almost evenly matched, it would drag on ruinously for years.
It is generally acknowledged that the Royalist cavalry's lack of discipline prevented a clear Royalist victory at Edgehill. Not for the last time in the war, they would gallop after fleeing enemy and stop to plunder, rather than rally to attack the enemy infantry. Byron's and Digby's men in particular, were not involved in the first clashes and should have been kept in hand rather than allowed to gallop off the battlefield.
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Maps
- The official Battlefield. This is the site of the Parliamentarian army's centre about which much of the fighting was done.
- The broader Battlefield. (Zoom out one step). The narrow wood, which has probably grown since the battle, marks the scarp of Edge Hill at the top of which the king's army formed up before the battle. Towards the north-west, it overlooks the lower slope and the plain on which the battle was fought. Parliament's army was formed up on the site of the later military depot with its left wing on the road.
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Footnotes
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References
- Seymour, W. Battles in Britain, 1066-1746. (1997) ISBN 1-85326-672-8
- Scott, C.L., Turton, A & Gruber von Arni, E. Edgehill: The Battle Reinterpreted. (2005) ISBN 1-84415-133-6
- Tincey, John, Roberts, Keith, Edgehill 1642: The English Civil War. (2001) ISBN 1-85532-991-3
- The UK Battlefields Resource Center, The Battlefields Trust, Meadow Cottage, 33 High Green, Brooke, Norwich, NR15 1HR
- Bott, Gavin, Executive Producer, "Line of Fire: Battle of Edgehill". (2006) History International Channel U.S.
- Young, Peter, Edgehill 1642, Windrush Press, ISBN 0-900075-34-1
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External links
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