the battle of worcester took place on
september 3rd 1651 at worcester
england and was the final battle of the
english civil war
oliver cromwell and the parliamentarians
defeated the royalist
predominantly scottish forces of king
charles ii the 16 000 royalist forces
were overwhelmed by the 28
000 strong new model army of cromwell
invasion of england
the king was aided by scottish allies
and was attempting to regain the throne
that had been lost when his father
charles the first was executed
the commander of the scots david leslie
supported the plan of fighting in
scotland where royal support was
strongest
charles however insisted on making war
in england
he calculated that cromwell's campaign
north of the river fourth would allow
the main scottish royalist army which
was south of the fourth to steal the
march on the roundhead new model army in
a race to london
he hoped to rally not merely the old
faithful royalists but also the
overwhelming numerical strength of the
english presbyterians to his standard
he calculated that his alliance with the
scottish presbyterian covenanters and
his signing of the solemn league and
covenant would encourage english
presbyterians to support him against the
english
independent faction which had grown in
power over the last few years
the royalist army was kept well in hand
no excesses were allowed
and in a week the royalists covered 150
miles and marked contrast to the duke of
hamilton's ill-fated expedition
of 1648. on 8th of august the troops
were given a well-earned rest between
penrith and kendall
but the royalists were mistaken in
supposing that the enemy was taken aback
by their new move
everything had been foreseen both by
cromwell and by the council of state in
westminster
the latter had called out the greater
part of the militia on 7th of august
lieutenant general charles fleetwood
began to draw together the midland
contingents at banbury
the london train bans turned out for
field service no fewer than 14
000 strong every suspected royalist was
closely watched
and the magazines of arms and the
country houses of the gentry were for
the most part removed into the strong
places
on his part cromwell had quietly made
his preparations
perth passed into his hands on 22nd of
august and he brought back his army to
leith by 5th of august
then see dispatched lieutenant general
john lambert with a cavalry corps to
harass the invaders
major general thomas harrison was
already at newcastle picking the best of
the county-mounted troops to add to his
own regulars
on 9th of august charles was at kendall
lambert hovering in his rear
and harrison marching swiftly to bar his
way at the mersey
thomas fairfax emerged for a moment from
his retirement to organize the yorkshire
levees
and the best of these as well as of the
lancashire cheshire and staffordshire
militias were directed upon warrington
which harrison reached on 15th of august
a few hours in front of charles's
advanced guard
lambert ii slipping round the left flank
of the enemy
joined harrison and the english fell
back slowly and without letting
themselves be drawn into a fight
along the london road worcester campaign
cromwell meanwhile leaving george monk
with the least efficient regiments to
carry on the war in scotland
had reached the river tine in seven days
and thence
marching 20 miles a day in extreme heat
with the country people carrying their
arms and equipment
the regulars entered ferry bridge on
19th of august at which date lambert
harrison and the northwestern militia
were about congloton
it seemed probable that a great battle
would take place between litchfield and
coventry on or just after 25th of august
and that cromwell
harrison lambert and fleetwood would all
take part in it
but the scene and the date of the
denouement were changed by the enemy's
movements
shortly after leaving warrington the
young king had resolved to abandon the
direct march on london and to make for
the severn valley
where his father had found the most
constant and the most numerous adherents
in the first war
and which had been the center of gravity
of the english royalist movement of
1648.
sir edward massey formerly the
parliamentary governor of gloucester
was now with charles and it was hoped
that he would induce his fellow
presbyterians to take
arms the military quality of the welsh
border
royalists was well proved that of the
gloucestershire presbyterians not less
so
and in basing himself on gloucester and
worcester as his father had done on
oxford
charles ii hoped naturally to deal with
the independent faction minority of the
english people more effectually than
charles the first had earlier dealt with
the majority of the people of england
who had supported the parliamentary
cause
but even the pure royalism which now
ruled in the invading army could not
alter the fact that it was a foreign
scottish
army and it was not merely an
independent faction but all england that
united against it
charles arrived at worcester on 22nd of
august and spent five days in resting
the troops
preparing for further operations and
gathering and arming the few recruits
who came in
the delay was to prove fatal it was a
necessity of the case foreseen and
accepted when the march to worcester had
been decided upon
and had the other course that of
marching on london via litchfield
been taken the battle would have been
fought three days earlier with the same
result
cromwell the lord general had during his
march south thrown out successively two
flying columns under colonel robert
lilburn to deal with the lancashire
royalists under the earl of derby
lilburn entirely routed a lancashire
detachment of the enemy on their way to
join the main royalist army at the
battle of wigan lane on 25th of august
and as affairs turned out cromwell
merely shifted the area of his
concentration two marches to the
southwest
to evesham early on 28th of august
lambert's brigade made a surprise
crossing of the severn at upton
six miles below worcester in the action
which followed massey was severely
wounded and he and his men were forced
to retreat northwards along the west
bank of the severn towards the river
team in worcester
fleetwood followed lambert with
reinforcements and orders to advance
north towards the team
this western envelopment severed the
royalist lines of communications to
wales and the western counties of
england
the royalists were now only 16 000
strong with no hope of significant
reinforcements and disheartened by the
apathy with which they had been received
in districts formerly all their own
cromwell for the only time in his
military career
had a two to one numerical superiority
on 30th of august cromwell delayed the
start of the battle to give time for two
pontoon bridges to be constructed
one over the severn and the other over
the team close to their confluence
the delay allowed cromwell to launch his
attack on third of september one year to
the day since his victory at the battle
of dunbar
the battle cromwell took his measures
deliberately
lilburn from lancashire and major mercer
with the worcestershire horse were to
secure beadley bridge
20 miles north of worcester and on the
enemy's line of retreat
fleetwood was to force his way across
the team and attack saint john's
the western suburb of worcester while
lambert commanded the eastern flank of
the army which would advance and
encircle the eastern walls of worcester
cromwell would lead the attack on the
southern ramparts of the city
the assault started on the morning of
3rd of september and initially the
initiative lay with the parliamentarians
fleet would force the passage of the
team over the pontoon bridges against
royalists under the command of major
general montgomery
colonel richard dean's initial attempts
to cross the pike bridge failed against
stubborn resistance by the royalists
commanded by colonel keith
by force of arms and numbers the
royalist army was pushed backward by the
new model army with cromwell on the
eastern bank of the severn and fleetwood
on the western sweeping in a semi-circle
four miles long up toward worcester
the royalists contested every hedgerow
around pak meadows
this stubborn resistance on the west
bank of the severn north of the team was
becoming a serious problem for the
parliamentarians
so cromwell led parliamentary
reinforcements from the eastern side of
the town over the severn pontoon bridge
to aid fleetwood
charles ii from his vantage point on top
of worcester cathedral's tower realized
that an opportunity existed to attack
the now-exposed eastern flank of the
parliamentary army
as the defenders on the western side of
the city retreated in good order into
the city
charles ordered two sorties to attack
the parliamentary forces east of the
city
the northeastern sortie through saint
martin's gate was commanded by the duke
of hamilton and attacked the
parliamentary lines at perry wood
the southeastern one through sidbury
gate was led by charles ii
and attacked red hill the royalist
cavalry under the command of david
leslie that was gathered on pitchcroft
meadow on the northern side of the city
did not receive orders to aid the
sorties and leslie chose not to do so
under his own initiative
cromwell seeing the difficulty that his
east flank was under rushed back over
the severn pontoon bridge with three
brigades of troops to reinforce the
flank
although they were pushed back the
parliamentarians under lambert were too
numerous and experienced to be defeated
by such a move
after an hour in which the
parliamentarians initially retreated
under the unexpected attack
when reinforced by cromwell's three
brigades they in turn forced the
royalists to retreat back toward the
city
the royalist retreat turned into a route
in which parliamentarian and royalist
forces intermingled and skirmished up to
and into the city
the royalist position became untenable
when the essex militia stormed and
captured fort royal
turning the royalist guns to fire on
worcester
once in the city charles ii removed his
armor and found a fresh mount
he attempted to rally his troops but it
was to no avail
a desperate royalist cavalry charged
down sydbury street and high street
led by the earl of cleveland and major
careless amongst others
allowed king charles to escape the city
by saint martin's gate
this cavalry force was composed of the
few midland english royalists who had
rallied to charles ii
and largely consisted of lord talbot's
troop of horse
the defenses of the city were stormed
from three different directions as
darkness came on
regulars and militia fighting with equal
galantry
most of the few thousands of the
royalists who escaped during the night
were easily captured by lilburn and
mercer
or by the militia which watched every
road in yorkshire and lancashire
even the country people brought in
scores of prisoners for officers and men
alike
stunned by the suddenness of the
disaster offered no resistance
aftermath about 3 000 men were killed
during the battle and a further 10 000
were taken prisoner at worcester or soon
afterwards
the earl of derby was executed while the
other english prisoners were conscripted
into the new model army and sent to
ireland
around 8 000 scottish prisoners were
deported to new england
bermuda and the west indies to work for
landowners as indentured laborers
parliamentary casualties numbered in the
low hundreds
charles ii escaped after many adventures
including one famous incident where he
hid from a parliamentarian patrol in an
oak tree in the grounds of boscobel
house
after the battle crum will return to
aylesbury
buckinghamshire one of the
parliamentarian strongholds and close to
the seat of his late cousin the civil
war hero john hampton
he stayed at the aptly named king's head
in aylesbury and it was here that he
received the thanks of parliament for
his final defeat of the royalists
the result of the battle was in brief
one of those rare victories in which a
pursuit is superfluous
cromwell thought the victory was the
greatest of all the favors
or mercies given to him by god
he famously wrote to william lentil the
speaker of the house of commons the
dimensions of this mercy are above my
thoughts
it is for what i know a crowning mercy
the phrase crowning mercy is frequently
linked to the battle
descriptive of the complete destruction
of the last royalist army in the end of
the english civil war
the parliamentary militia were sent home
within a week
cromwell who had ridiculed such stuff
six months ago
knew them better now your new raised
forces
he wrote to the rump parliament did
perform singular good service
for which they deserve a very high
estimation and acknowledgement
the new england preacher hugh peters
gave the militia a rousing farewell
sermon when their wives and children
should ask them where they had been and
what news
they should say they had been at
worcester where england's sorrows began
and where they were happily ended
referring to the first clash of the
royalist and parliamentarian armies at
the battle of pock bridge on september
23
1642 almost exactly nine years before
before the battle king charles ii
contracted the worcester clothiers to
outfit his army with uniforms but was
unable to pay the pound 453.3s bill
in june 2008 charles prince of wales
paid off the 357 year old debt