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GREAT ACHIEVEMENTS OF MY DIVISION.

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into some disorder. In this extremity, I sent to order my dragoons to charge them in the flank, which they did with great bravery, and the other still maintained the fight with desperate resolution. There was no want of courage in our men on both sides, but our dragoons had the advantage, and at last routed them, and drove them back to the village. Here Sir Marmaduke Langdale had his hands full too; for my firing had alarmed the towns adjacent, that when he came into the town, he found them all in arms; and, contrary to his expectations, two regiments of foot with about three hundred horse more. As Sir Marmaduke had no foot, only horse and dragoons, this was a surprise to him; but he caused his dragoons to enter the town, and charge the foot, while his horse secured the avenues of the town.

The dragoons bravely attacked the foot, and Sir Marmaduke falling in with his horse, the fight was obstinate and very bloody, when the horse, that I had routed came flying into the street of the village, and my men at their heels. Immediately I left the pursuit, and fell in with all my force to the assistance of my friends; and, after an obstinate resistance, we routed the whole party; we killed about seven hundred men, took three hundred and fifty, twenty-seven officers, one hundred arms, all their baggage, and two hundred horses, and continued our march to Harborough, where we halted to refresh ourselves.

Between Harborough and Leicester we met with a party of eight hundred dragoons of the parliament forces. They found themselves too few to attack us, and therefore, to avoid us, they had gotten into a small wood; but perceiving themselves discovered, they came boldly out, and placed themselves at the entrance into a lane, lining both sides of the hedges with their shot. We immediately attacked them, beat them from their hedges, beat them into the wood, and out of the wood again, and forced them at last to a downright run away, on foot, among the enclosures, where we could not follow them, killed about a hundred of them, and took two hundred and fifty prisoners, with all their horses, and came that night to Leicester. When we came to Leicester, and had taken up our quarters, Sir Marmaduke Langdale sent for me to sup with him, and told me that he had a secret commission in his pocket, which his majesty had commanded him not to

open until he came to Leicester; that now he had sent for me to open it together, that we might know what it was we were to do, and to consider how to do it; so pulling out his sealed orders, we found we were to get what force we could together, and a certain number of carriages with ammunition, which the governor of Leicester was to deliver us, and a certain quantity of provision, especially corn and salt, and to relieve Newark. This town had been long besieged; the fortifications of the place, together with its situation, had rendered it the strongest place in England; and, as it was the greatest pass in England, so it was of vast consequence to the king's affairs. There was in it a garrison of brave old rugged boys, fellows, that like Count Tilly's Germans, had iron faces, and they had defended themselves with extraordinary bravery a great while, but were reduced to an exceeding strait for want of provisions.

Accordingly we received the ammunition and provision, and away we went for Newark; about Melton-Mowbray, Colonel Roseter set upon us with above three thousand men; we were about the same number, having two thousand five hundred horse and eight hundred dragoons. We had some foot, but they were still at Harborough, and were ordered to come after us.

Roseter, like a brave officer, as he was, charged us with great fury, and rather outdid us in number, while we defended ourselves with all the eagerness we could, and withal gave him to understand we were not so soon to be beaten as he expected. While the fight continued doubtful, especially on our side, our people, who had charge of the carriages and provisions, began to enclose our flanks with them, as if we had been marching; which, though it was done without orders, had two very good effects, and which did us extraordinary service. First, it secured us from being charged in the flank, which Roseter had twice attempted; and secondly, it secured our carriages from being plundered, which had spoiled our whole expedition. Being thus enclosed, we fought with great security; and though Roseter made three desperate charges upon us, he could never break us. Our men received him with so much courage, and kept their order so well, that the enemy finding it impossible to force us, gave it over, and left us to pursue our orders. We did not offer

DETERMINATION TO RELIEVE NEWARK.

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to chase them, but contented enough to have repulsed and beaten them off, and our business being to relieve Newark, we proceeded.

If we are to reckon by the enemy's usual method, we got the victory, because we kept the field, and had the pillage of their dead; but, otherwise, neither side had any great cause to boast. We lost about one hundred and fifty men, and near as many hurt; they left one hundred and seventy on the spot, and carried off some. How many they had wounded we could not tell; we got seventy or eighty horses, which helped to remount some of our men that had lost theirs in the fight. We had, however, this disadvantage, that we were to march on immediately after this service; the enemy only to retire to their quarters, which was but hard by. This was an injury to our wounded men, whom we were after obliged to leave at Belvoir Castle, and from thence we advanced to Newark.

Our business at Newark was to relieve the place, and this we resolved to do, whatever it cost, though, at the same time, we resolved not to fight, unless we were forced to it. The town was rather blocked up than besieged; the garrison was strong, but ill provided; we had sent them word of our coming, and our orders to relieve them, and they proposed some measures for our doing it. The chief strength of the enemy lay on the other side of the river; but they having also some notice of our design, had sent over forces to strengthen their leaguer on this side. The garrison had often surprised them by sallies, and indeed had chiefly subsisted for some time by what they brought in in this manner.

Sir Marmaduke Langdale, who was our general for the expedition, was for a general attempt to raise the siege; but I had persuaded him off that: first, because if we should be beaten, as might be probable, we then lost the town. Sir Marmaduke briskly replied, A soldier ought never to suppose he shall be beaten. But, sir, says I, you'll get more honour by relieving the town, than by beating them: one will be a credit to your conduct, as the other will be to your courage; and, if you think you can beat them, you may do it afterwards, and then, if you are mistaken, the town is nevertheless secured, and half your victory gained.

He was prevailed with to adhere to this advice, and accordingly we appeared before the town about two hours

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before night. The horse drew up before the enemy's works; the enemy drew up within their works, and seeing no foot, expected when our dragoons would dismount and attack them. They were in the right to let us attack them, because of the advantage of their batteries and works, if that had been our design; but, as we intended only to amuse them, this caution of theirs effected our design; for, while we thus faced them with our horse, two regiments of foot, which came up to us but the night before, and was all the infantry we had, with the waggons of provisions, and five hundred dragoons, taking a compass clean round the town, posted themselves on the lower side of the town by the river. Upon a signal the garrison agreed on before, they sallied out at this very juncture, with all the men they could spare, and dividing themselves in two parties, while one party moved to the left to meet our relief, the other party fell on upon part of that body which faced us. We kept in motion, and upon this signal advanced to their works, and our dragoons fired upon them; and the horse wheeling and countermarching often, kept them continually expecting to be attacked. By this means the enemy were kept employed, and our foot, with the waggons, appearing on that quarter where they were least expected, easily defeated the advanced guards, and forced that post, where entering the leaguer, the other part of the garrison, who had sallied that way, came up to them, received the waggons, and the dragoons entered with them into the town. That party, which we faced on the other side of the works, knew nothing of what was done till all was over; the garrison retreated in good order, and we drew off, having finished what we came for without fighting.

Thus we plentifully stored the town with all things wanting, and with an addition of five hundred dragoons to their garrison; after which we marched away without fighting a stroke. Our next orders were to relieve Pontefract Castle, another garrison of the king's, which had been besieged ever since a few days after the fight at Marston-moor, by the Lord Fairfax, Sir Thomas Fairfax, and other generals in their turn.

By the way, we were joined with eight hundred horse out of Derbyshire, and some foot, so many as made us about four thousand five hundred men in all.

COLONEL FORBES COMMANDS THE SIEGE.

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CHAPTER XV.

ACTION WITH COLONEL FORBES, A SCOTCHMAN-I VISIT MY
FATHER, WHO IS PRISONER OF WAR AT SHREWSBURY,
AND OBTAIN HIS EXCHANGE-SIR THOMAS FAIRFAX AP-
POINTED GENERAL OF THE PARLIAMENT ARMY-THE
KING'S OBSERVATION THEREUPON-LEICESTER TAKEN BY
STORM -BATTLE
FATAL CONSEQUENCES
THEREOF THE KING RETIRES TO WALES.

OF NASEBY

COLONEL Forbes, a Scotchman, commanded at the siege, in the absence of the Lord Fairfax; the colonel had sent to my lord for more troops, and his lordship was gathering his forces to come up to him; but he was pleased to come too late. We came up with the enemy's leaguer about the break of day, and having been discovered by their scouts, they, with more courage than discretion, drew out to meet us. We saw no reason to avoid them, being stronger in horse than they; and though we had but a few foot, we had a thousand dragoons, which helped us out. We had placed our horse and foot throughout in one line, with two reserves of horse, and between every division of horse, a division of foot, only that, on the extremes of our wings, there were two parties of horse on each point by themselves, and the dragoons in the centre on foot. Their foot charged us home, and stood with push of pike a great while; but their horse charging our horse and musketeers, and being closed on the flanks with those two extended troops on our wings, they were presently disordered, and fled out of the field. The foot thus deserted, were charged on every side, and broken. They retreated still fighting, and in good order, for a while; but the garrison sallying_upon them at the same time, and being followed close by our horse, they were scattered, entirely routed, and most of them killed. The Lord Fairfax was come with his horse as far as Ferrybridge, but the fight was over; and all he could do was to rally those that fled, and save some of their carriages, which else had fallen into our hands. We drew up our little army in order of battle the next day, expecting the Lord Fairfax

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