 |
||
| Naseby 1645 | ||
| Jun 13 |
In the early hours, Parliamentarian scouts report the Royalist army is moving off from Borough Hill just outside Daventry. 6 am. Fairfax holds a council of war as Cromwell arrives with 600 horse and dragoons to a big cheer from the Parliamentarian force. A detachment of cavalry under Ireton and Harrison is sent out to shadow the Royalist army and report on its movements. They fell on a group of 20 Royalist horsemen at Naseby - most were captured but some escaped to raise the alarm. |
A letter is intercepted from Goring to Rupert saying that he could not come from the west to join him yet. A vital piece of intelligence for Fairfax! |
 |
Rupert decides to retreat northwards to Belvoir castle where they could join the Newark garrison before taking on Fairfax. As a decoy, he moved off westwards for a while before turning north-east and heading for Market Harborough. | |
| Jun 14 | 2am The King and Rupert hold
a council of war to decide whether to face Fairfax and offer battle or
to retreat to Leicester where they could increase their numbers first.
5 am Fairfax brings up his forces from Guilsborough and reaches Naseby. Units of Royalist cavalry are spotted on distant hills, so he knows the King will give battle that day. |
Strangely, Rupert advised against battle, but Digby and Asburnham persuaded the King to fight. |
| There was much manoeuvring of armies before they finally settled into their battle positions - both armies were placed on slight rises with Broad Moor lying between them. | ||
| Fairfax withdrew his forces back behind a slope and out of sight of the Royalist lines while they lined up in battle order. | ..to hide the 'confusion' from the sight of the enemy, and to prevent his forces being demoralised by the sight of the Royalists. | |
 |
Oakey's dragoons were lined up behind the Selby Hedges. | |
| Royalists : (5000 cavalry,
4500 foot); Langdale on the left, Rupert and Maurice on the left, the
foot in the centre under Astley. In the rear stood the King and his
reserve.
Parliament : (6600 cavalry, 8000 foot); Butler, Vermuyden and Ireton on the left, Cromwell on the right, and Skippon's foot in the centre. |
Figures vary from source to source so these can only be considered as approximate numbers...but all agree the Royalists were heavily outnumbered. | |
| 10 am Rupert leads a cavalry
charge on the Royalist right wing, up a slope towards Ireton's cavalry
and under fire from Okey's dragoons behind the hedges. Ireton moves
forward to meet the charge. Both forces falter to redress before
clashing. Ireton breaks through but Butler is wounded. The
Parliamentarian cavalry turn and flee back chased by Rupert who is
unable to stop the charge before it reaches the baggage area.
All forces on both sides advance towards each other. |
Ireton's horse was shot from under him, he was wounded in the thigh with a pike and in the face by a halberd, and was briefly taken prisoner. | |
| In the centre, Skippon's men appear over the brow of the slope within musket shot distance. They exchange one volley of shot before push of pike starts. Musketeers use the butts of their weapons to club the enemy. The Parliamentarian lines were pushed back slowly despite their superior numbers, particularly on their left where Skippon's regiment fought. Fairfax on the right stood firm. | Skippon was wounded by a musket ball in the ribs but remained on the field until the battle was over. | |
| On the right, Cromwell led his cavalry down the slope to meet Langdale's. Whalley on the left was first to get into the fight, firing pistols and then using swords. It was not long before the Royalist horsemen turned and sought refuge behind the King's reserve. Unlike Rupert, Cromwell did not waste time in pursuing the enemy with all his men - he only sent enough to make sure they did not reform. Word was passed to the King's reserve to move to their right - this was taken as a sign to retreat and once started it was hard to stop the mean fleeing. | Cromwell and Rossiter were
slowed on the right by rabbit warrens and furze bushes.
A counter-attack by the King was halted by the Earl of Carnwath who grabbed the King's reins and cried "Will you go upon your death?" |
|
| Cromwell now charged with Fairfax into the left flank of the Royalist foot. Okey brought his dragoons to attack their right flank. The Royalists were now being pressed on three sides and started to lay down their arms. Only one brigade (Rupert's Bluecoats) fought to the last, until Fairfax charged from one side and D'Oyley from the other. | Fairfax had lost his helmet in the battle but rode up and down the lines, rallying his men. | |
 |
Once the Royalist cavalry had left the field of battle, the infantry were pressed on three sides by Parliamentarian forces and had little chance. | |
| Rupert managed to rally some of his men at the Parliamentarian baggage train, but when he returned to the field of battle, he must have realised how futile it would have been to re-join the fight and he made his way round to join the King's life guard and Langdale's shaken horsemen. | ||
| 1 pm Parliamentarian troops
re-formed into battle lines, facing the remnants of the King's army, who
then fled from the field. There was heavy slaughter in the retreat as
they were chased as far as Leicester - even the women who followed the
army were killed.
Fewer than 4000 escaped. There were 4500 prisoners crammed into the church at Market Harborough, then the next day they were escorted to London to be paraded in the streets. 56 Royalist standards had been captured and there were about 1000 Royalist dead. The New Model Army lost only 200 men. |
Many of the Royalist women
were killed or had their noses slit to mark them as whores.
In the pursuit, Cromwell forbade his men to dismount to collect booty. In his flight many of the King's papers fell into Parliamentary hands. These revealed his plans to use soldiers from Ireland and overseas and plans for the tolerance of Catholicism. |
|
It was the discipline of
Cromwell's horsemen that won the day for Parliament. The Royalists had
started the battle well, but their horsemen left the field in the
pursuit of the enemy and this left the infantry unguarded. It was a
military disaster for the King and ended all realistic hopes for a
Royalist win. Things may have turned out differently ...
Royalist : King Charles, Prince Rupert, Prince Maurice, Lord Astley, Sir Marmaduke Langdale, Earl of Northampton, Sir William Vaughan, Col. Hopton, Col. Paget, Sir Henry Bard, Col. Thomas, Sir John Owen, Col. Gerrat, Sir George Lisle, Col. Smith, Col. Cary, Col. Howard Parliament : Fairfax, Cromwell, Henry Ireton, Skippon, Col. Rossiter, Okey, Whalley, Vermuyden, Col. Pickering, Col. Whalley, Col. Rossiter, Col. Butler, Col. Fiennes, Col. Sheffield, Col Gourdon, Col. Montague, Hardres Waller, Rainsborough, Hammond, Pride, Major Huntingdon, Col. Charles D'Oyley. |
That night after the
battle, Cromwell wrote to the Speaker of the Commons :
'Honest men served you faithfully in this action. Sir, they are trusty; I beseech you in the name of God not to discourage them. I wish this action may beget thankfulness and humility in all that are concerned in it. He that ventures his life for the liberty of his country, I wish he trust God for the liberty of his conscience, and you for the liberty he fights for.' |
|