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CHAPTER XIV.

STATE OF THE PRINCE'S ARMY-SKIRMISHES—THE KING'S ARMY OBTAINS SOME PARTIAL SUCCESSES IN THE WESTTHE ARMIES JOIN AT OXFORD-FARTHER PROCEEDINGS BAD CONDUCT OF THE PARLIAMENT SOLDIERS-NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE PARLIAMENT FOR PEACE-PROCEEDINGS OF THE DIVISION TO WHICH I BELONGED IN THE ARMY.

MEAN time the prince forms a very good army, and the Lord Goring, with ten thousand men, shows himself on the borders of Scotland, to try if that might not cause the Scots to recall their forces; and, I am persuaded, had he entered Scotland, the parliament of Scotland had recalled the Earl of Calendar, for they had but five thousand men left in arms to send against him; but they were loath to venture.

However, this effect it had, that it called the Scots northward again, and found them work there for the rest of the summer, to reduce the several towns in the bishopric of Durham.

I found with the prince the poor remains of my regiment, which, when joined with those that had been with me, could not all make up three troops, and but two captains, three lieutenants, and one cornet; the rest were dispersed, killed, or taken prisoners.

However, with those, which we still called a regiment, I joined the prince, and after having done all we could on that side, the Scots being returned from York, the prince returned through Lancashire to Chester.

The enemy often appeared and alarmed us, and once fell on one of our parties, and killed us about a hundred men ; but we were too many for them to pretend to fight us, so we came to Bolton, beat the troops of the enemy near Warrington, where I got a cut with a halberd in my face, and arrived at Chester the begining of August.

The parliament, upon their great success in the north, thinking the king's forces quite broken, had sent their general, Essex, into the west, where the king's army was commanded

by Prince Maurice, Prince Rupert's elder brother, but not very strong; and the king being, as they supposed, by the absence of Prince Rupert, weakened so much as that he might be checked by Sir William Waller, who, with four thousand five hundred foot, and fifteen hundred horse, was at that time about Winchester, having lately beaten Sir Ralph Hopton. Upon all these considerations, the Earl of Essex marches westward.

The forces in the west being too weak to oppose him, everything gave way to him, and all people expected he would besiege Exeter, where the queen was newly lying-in, and sent a trumpet to desire he would forbear the city, while she could be removed; which he did, and passed on westward, took Tiverton, Biddeford, Barnstaple, Launceston, relieved Plymouth, drove Sir Richard Grenvil up into Cornwall, and followed him thither, but left Prince Maurice behind him with four thousand men about Barnstaple and Exeter. The king, in the mean time, marches from Oxford into Worcester, with Waller at his heels; at Edgehill his majesty turns upon Waller, and gave him a brush, to put him in mind of the place; the king goes on to Worcester, sends three hundred horse to relieve Durley Castle, besieged by the Earl of Denby, and sending part of his forces to Bristol, returns to Oxford.

His majesty had now firmly resolved to march into the west, not having yet any account of our misfortunes in the north. Waller and Middleton waylay the king at Cropedy bridge. The king assaults Middleton at the bridge; Waller's men were posted with some cannon to guard a pass; Middleton's men put a regiment of the king's foot to the rout, and pursued them. Waller's men, willing to come in for the plunder, a thing their general had often used them to, quit their post at the pass, and their great guns, to have part in the victory. The king coming in seasonably to the relief of his men, routs Middleton, and at the same time sends a party round, who clapt in between Sir William Waller's men and their great guns, and secured the pass and the cannon too.

The king took three colonels, besides other officers, and about three hundred men prisoners, with eight great guns, nineteen carriages of ammunition, and killed about two hundred men.

Waller lost his reputation in this fight, and was exceedingly slighted ever after, even by his own party; but especially

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by such as were of General Essex's party, between whom and Waller there had been jealousies and misunderstandings for some time.

The king, about eight thousand strong, marched on to Bristol, where Sir William Hopton joined him, and from thence he follows Essex into Cornwall; Essex still following Grenvil, the king comes to Exeter, and joining with Prince Maurice, resolves to pursue Essex; and now the Earl of Essex began to see his mistake, being cooped up between two seas, the king's army in his rear, the country his enemy, and Sir Richard Grenvil in his van.

The king, who always took the best measures when he was left to his own counsel, wisely refuses to engage, though superior in number, and much stronger in horse. Essex often drew out to fight, but the king fortifies, takes the passes and bridges, plants cannon, and secures the country to keep off provisions, and continually strengthens their quarters, but would not fight.

Now Essex sends away to the parliament for help, and they write to Waller, and Middleton, and Manchester to follow, and come up with the king in his rear; but some were too far off, and could not, as Manchester and Fairfax; others made no haste, as having no mind to it, as Waller and Middleton, and if they had, it had been too late.

At last the Earl of Essex finding nothing to be done, and unwilling to fall into the kings hands, takes shipping, and leaves his army to shift for themselves. The horse, under Sir William Balfour, the best horse officer, and, without comparison, the bravest in all the parliament army, advanced in small parties, as if to skirmish, but falling in with the whole body, being three thousand five hundred horse, broke through, and got off. Though this was a loss to the king's victory, yet the foot were now in a condition so much the worse. Brave old Skippon proposed to fight through with the foot and die, as he called it, like Englishmen, with sword in hand; but the rest of the officers shook their heads at it: for, being well paid, they had at present no occasion for dying.

Seeing it thus, they agreed to treat, and the king grants them conditions, upon laying down their arms, to march off free. This was too much; had his majesty but obliged them ⚫ upon oath not to serve again for a certain time, he had done his business; but this was not thought of; so they passed

free, only disarmed, the soldiers not being allowed so much as their swords.

The king gained by this treaty forty picces of cannon, all of brass, three hundred barrels of gunpowder, nine thousand arms, eight thousand swords, match and bullet in proportion, two hundred waggons, one hundred and fifty colours and standards, all the bag and baggage of the army, and about one thousand of the men listed in his army. This was a complete victory without bloodshed; and, had the king but secured the men from serving but for six months, it had most effectually answered the battle of Marston-moor.

As it was, it infused new life into all his majesty's forces and friends, and retrieved his affairs very much; but especially it encouraged us in the north, who were more sensible of the blow received at Marston-moor, and of the destruction the Scots were bringing upon us all.

While I was at Chester, we had some small skirmishes with Sir William Brereton. One morning in particular Sir William drew up, and faced us, and one of our colonels of horse observing the enemy to be not, as he thought, above two hundred, desires leave of Prince Rupert to attack them with a like number, and accordingly he sallied out with two hundred horse. I stood drawn up without the city with eight hundred more, ready to bring him off, if he should be put to the worst, which happened accordingly; for, not having discovered neither the country nor the enemy as he ought, Sir William Brereton drew him into an ambuscade; so that before he came up with Sir William's forces, near enough to charge, he finds about three hundred horse in his rear. Though he was surprised at this, yet, being a man of a ready courage, he boldly faces about with a hundred and fifty of his men, leaving the other fifty to face Sir William. With this small party, he desperately charges the three hundred horse in his rear, and putting them into disorder, breaks through them, and, had there been no greater force, he had cut them all in pieces. Flushed with this success, and loath to desert the fifty men he had left behind, he faces about again, and charges through them again, and with these two charges entirely routs them. Sir William Brereton finding himself a little disappointed, advances, and falls upon the fifty men just as the colonel came up to them; they fought him with a great deal of bravery, but the colonel being unfor

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tunately killed in the first charge, the men gave way, and came flying all in confusion, with the enemy at their heels. As soon as I saw this, I advanced, according to my orders, and the enemy, as soon as I appeared, gave over the pursuit. This gentleman, as I remember, was Colonel Marrow; we fetched off his body, and retreated into Chester.

The next morning the prince drew out of the city with about twelve hundred horse and two thousand foot, and attacked Sir William Brereton in his quarters. The fight was very sharp for the time, and near seven hundred men, on both sides, were killed; but Sir William would not put it to a general engagement, so the prince drew off, contenting himself to have insulted him in his quarters.

We now had received orders from the king to join him; but I representing to the prince the condition of my regiment, which was now a hundred men, and, that being within twentyfive miles of my father's house, I might soon recruit it, my father having got some men together already, I desired leave to lie at Shrewsbury for a month, to make up my men. Accordingly, having obtained his leave, I marched to Wrexham, where, in two days' time I got twenty men, and so on to Shrewsbury. I had not been here above ten days, but I received an express to come away with what recruits I had got together, Prince Rupert having positive orders to meet the king by a certain day. I had not mounted a hundred men, though I had listed above two hundred, when these orders came; but leaving my father to complete them for me, I marched with those I had, and came to Oxford.

The king, after the rout of the parliament forces in the west, was marched back, took Barnstaple, Plympton, Launceston, Tiverton, and several other places, and left Plymouth besieged by Sir Richard Grenvil; met with Sir William Waller at Shaftesbury, and again at Andover, and boxed him at both places, and marched for Newbury. Here the king sent for Prince Rupert to meet him, who, with three thousand horse, made long marches to join him; but the parliament have joined their three armies together, Manchester from the north, Waller, and Essex, the men being clothed and armed, from the west, they attacked the king, and obliged him to fight the day before the prince came up.

The king had so posted himself, as that he could not be obliged to fight but with advantage; the parliament's forces

VOL. II.