 |
||
| Cropredy Bridge 1644 | ||
| Jun 24 | Waller marches from
Gloucester and enters Stow-on-the-Wold where he learns that the King is
marching eastwards threatening the Eastern Association territory while
its army was away. Charles is trying to draw the Earl of Manchester's
army away from the besieged city of York.
The Committee of Both Kingdoms orders Waller to pursue the King, while trained bands from London under Sir Richard Browne move to Hertford. |
|
| Jun 25 | Waller's horse camp at Oxhill, while the foot are 5 miles behind at Shipston-on-Stour. Charles had reached Wellingborough, but hearing of Waller's approach, he retired to Buckingham. | |
| Jun 26 | Waller rests his men. | |
|
|
||
| Jun 27 | Marches eastwards and reaches Hanwell Castle on higher ground to the west of the River Cherwell. The King is only 5 miles away in Edgecote. | |
| Jun 28 | The armies face each other across the River Cherwell. Neither is willing to make a crossing of the river under the fire of enemy guns. | |
| Jun 29 (Sat) |
The King's army moves northwards towards Daventry and becomes well strung out. A report of Parliamentarian cavalry ahead makes the King send his leading horse on to secure Hay's bridge. | The Parliamentarian armies shadow their movements on the other side of the river. |
|
|
||
| Waller notices the
Royalists are becoming separated and sends cavalry under Lt. Gen. John
Middleton and Capt. John Butler across Cropredy bridge to attack. Lt
Col. Jeremy Baines follows with nine companies of foot (4 of Surrey
Greencoats, 5 of Waller's regiment). They encounter Lord Wilmot's
regiments of horse and chase them to Hay's bridge where the Royalist
foot make a stand, joined by the King's Lifeguards who had been sent
back after crossing the bridge. ... Middleton's troops are forced to
withdraw but find their way back to Cropredy bridge barred by enemy
horse and foot.
Middleton's horse are put to flight by the Earl of Cleveland's
brigade. |
The regiments sent were Heselrige's and Vandruske's. | |
| Meanwhile Waller leads an even larger body of 1000 horsemen across the river further south at a ford near Slat Mill and starts to climb the hill to the village of Wardington. At the top of the slope he meets the Earl of Northampton's brigade of horse, and Astey's foot...Waller sees that the Royalist forces have rallied together and backs down, returning to his foot at Great Bourton. | ||
| At Cropredy bridge Col. James Wemyss had taken over eight brass cannon to support an over-ambitious advance by Maj. Gen. Andrew Potley's foot, but an advance by the Royalists soon sends them scuttling back. The cannon are abandoned. | Wemyss refuses to abandon his guns and is captured with them. | |
| Col. Ralph Weldon's Kentish Regiment of foot and Tower Hamlets regiment come to the rescue by securing the bridge and keeping the Royalists off it for the rest of the day. | ..helped by two drakes. | |
| Waller's artillery continues to fire from the heights of Bourton hill and forces the Royalists to retreat up the slopes away from the river. | ||
| Jun 30 (Sun) |
Both armies face each other again across the river but no major skirmishes break out. | A Royalist gun fires on a group of Parliamentarians at prayer in the fields. |
| Waller is nearly killed when the floor of the building he is in collapses into the cellar beneath. | Waller lands on Maj. Gen. Andrew Potley who is injured and retires soon afterwards. | |
| Royalist 10000 (5000 horse;
3500 foot): Charles, Earl of Cleveland, Lord Wilmot, Earl of
Northampton, Sir Bernard Astley, Lord Bernard Stuart Parliament 10000 (5000 horse; 4500 foot): Waller, Sir Richard Browne, Lt. Gen. John Middleton, Col. James Wemyss, Maj. Gen. Andrew Potley, Lt. Col. Baker, Lt. Col. Baines, Col. Ralph Weldon, Capt. John Butler. After this battle Waller was plagued by mutinies and desertions. Prince Rupert was unaware of the King's success at Cropredy Bridge and continued to hasten his relief of York, thinking he had to hurry south to help Charles. |
||
