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| Army Rendezvous at Corkbush Field 1647 | ||
| Nov 15 | The first of three army rendezvous is held at Corkbush
Field, Ware. Fairfax has a new 'Remonstrance' written with Cromwell and
Ireton and some agitators.
Fairfax was going to read it out in front of the army. It was
designed to re-unite the army behind some common objectives and restore
discipline. |
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| The Levellers however, had been active distributing their
'Agreement' amongst the troops. |
Col. William Eyre and Major Thomas Scott were caught and arrested. | |
| Seven regiments are at the rendezvous and willingly agree
to Fairfax's 'Remonstrance'.
Two other uninvited regiments appear - Lilburne's foot and Harrison's horse - many of them with copies of the 'Agreement' in their hats with the Leveller's slogan 'England's freedom and soldiers' rights'. Their defiance is short-lived. Fairfax's officers ride among Harrison's men and persuade them to remove the papers from their hats. Lilburne's regiment arrives a little later. They stone and wound one
of Fairfax's officers when he approaches them. Cromwell draws his sword
and takes some of his officers into the ranks of Lilburne's regiment of
foot and forces them to submit. |
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| Eight or nine ringleaders of the mutineers from Lilburne's
regiment were rounded up and sentenced to death after a brief
court-martial. Fairfax then pardoned all but three of them. These three
then drew lots and the loser Private Richard Arnold was shot in the
field as an example.
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| Nov 16,17 | The other regiments rendezvous at Ruislip Heath and Kingston and show support for Fairfax. | |