twenty-five pieces of cannon. So much alike were all these forces in their general equipment and appearance, that the distinction for the king's troops was to be without either band or scarf; and for that of the Parliament, the simple badge of a piece of white paper or a handkerchief tied round the hat or helmet (Vicars). A broad and deep drain as well as the hedge lay along the front of the latter; towards their right and Rupert's left, the ground was considerably broken by hedges and copses, and intersected by those narrow and shady lanes which are so peculiar to England, and so suggestive of rural peace and solitude. The other flank of both armies rested on ground totally without cover, the face of the country assuming in that quarter the aspect of a barren heath. In general the ground was flat, with here and there an undulation, not inconvenient for the disposal of a few guns. Independently, therefore," says the author of "British Military Commanders," "of the tactics of the age, which seem to have arbitrarily planted the cavalry on the wings in all armies, such disposition of that arm appears to have been on the present occasion judicious, as was also the establishment of a reserve of horse in support of the second line of infantry." Though the troops had begun to form early in the morning, noon had passed, so slow were the tactics of those days, ere they were all in position. The brave and fiery Rupert is said to have been somewhat overawed when he saw the overwhelming columns of the enemy deploying into their places; and, "being somewhat restrained by the languid movements of his own rear, could only gaze on these formations without attempting to molest them." General Ludlow tells us that if the prince, instead of fighting at Marston Moor, had simply relieved York and retreated, the reputation that movement would have gained him must have caused his army "to increase like the rolling of a snow-ball." So soon as his cannon came up, he ordered several pieces to open fire on the enemy's line. There was a prompt response from thence, and one of the first shots slew a young Cavalier, the son of Sir Gilbert Houghton; but, contrary to all precedent, the prince evinced no disposition to assume any further initiative in the action. Thus, till half-past six in the long and warm July evening, these two armies, in splendid array, continued quietly to face each other; but at seven the Parliamentarians began to quit their ground; the battle began, and rolling from flank to flank, the fire of musketry and cannon enveloped all the moor in smoke, and the carnage deepened fast; for the 231 number of combatants in the field is roughly estimated by Hume at 50,000, and every man of them was animated by the most resolute courage, and the most bitter political hate and religious rancour. So confused and contradictory are the accounts of this engagement, that Rapin, who was a veteran soldier, and saw much service at the Boyne Water and elsewhere, says in his history, "I shall not undertake to describe this battle, because in all the accounts I have seen I meet with so little order and clearness that I cannot expect to give a satisfactory idea of it to such of my readers as understand these matters." The circumstance of there being in the field two generals of the name of Leslie and two of the name of Fairfax has added to this confusion of statements. In the first shock that ensued when the cavalry charged each other, the armies would seem to have almost wheeled on their centres; but so many and such contradictory accounts of this important battle have come down, that it is far from easy to offer a minute or almost rational description of it. That it was contested with peculiar obstinacy on both sides, is the solitary point on which the various historians agree. It is even doubtful where the strife began, whether on the proper right, left, or centre of each army. Prince Rupert would seem to have strongly occupied the trench or drain that intersected the moor by posting there four brigades of infantry, supported on their right by a body of horse; and against these the first movements would seem to have been made by Lord Manchester's infantry, charging the ditch in front, while the cavalry of the left wing swept round at full gallop to clear the plain of the squadron, and attack the ditch in rear. These cavalry consisted of the Ironsides and four other regiments of horse (all or mostly Scots), led by Oliver Cromwell, "who advanced with them to the charge from the Cows Warren at Biltonbreame, where he was posted." As long as this force could not come into play-and they were under the necessity of making a long detour— the battle beside the ditch was maintained with great obstinacy. Secure in its rear, the Royal musketeers planted their forks in the bank, and poured a ceaseless and well-directed fire upon the advancing column, while a brigade of light fieldguns in their rear sent their shot plunging deeply and terribly into the ranks of the Puritans, scattering death and disorder among them. Two guns were brought to the front to answer this cannonade, but were brought in vain. The enemy fell beside them in heaps, "and brave as the officers confessedly were, not all their exertions availed to carry on the survivors beyond the first line of horses, whose wounds rendered them unmanageable, fire." and once more returned to the charge. But a very different result ensued when Cromwell, with his tremendous Ironsides and brigade of Scottish cavalry, came thundering down on the flank and rear. Having cleared all the broken ground and gained the open sweep of the moor, they speedily routed the flanking force of cavalry, charged the cannon, and slew the gunners; then, after pausing for a minute to breathe their horses, with swords uplifted and reins loose, they rode in excellent order towards the drain. But the infantry stationed there, seeing how affairs had gone with the cavalry on their flank and the gunners in their rear, did not wait to receive the shock, but began to retire, thus suffering the Republican pikemen to cross, and endured great loss as they retreated across the plain, though firing over their forks to check the repeated charges of the cavalry. man. Beside that fatal drain one body of Royal infantry stood without flinching, and perished almost to a These were the Marquis of Newcastle's White-coats, so called from their white woollen doubtlets. Popularly they were known as his "lambs." "They stood like a wall," says the Cavalier Warwick; "yet he (Cromwell) mowed them down like a meadow." Another writer says, "Resolute to conquer or to perish, they obstinately kept their ground, and maintained by their dead bodies the same order in which they had first been ranged." On the other wing the Parliamentary army not only failed to make any impression; but sustained a most signal reverse. The ground on which they were posted, though favourable to men acting on the defensive, militated against them in a forward movement, for they could only advance through narrow lanes and woody alleys in slender columns, to be swept away by the fire of the Royalists when deploying into line; and it was at this juncture, when his infantry had been thus repeatedly driven back, that a Parliamentary leader, said by some to be Sir Thomas Fairfax, ordered the cavalry to charge, wheeling first by sections to the right and left, for the foot to pass rearward through the openings. Closing in, they galloped gallantly forward, but - received a fire so heavy, close, and well-directed, that horses and men fell over each other in heaps, and their ranks became wildly confused, till Cromwell with his cavalry came up and charged this portion of the Royal infantry in front, and gave the advancing troopers time to reform. Fairfax and his major-general used all their exertions to disentangle their men from the corpsestrewn ground, and from the kicking and maddened Menteith of Salmonet says that a portion of the left wing of the Royalists, led by Colonel Goring, broke bravely through the Scottish Covenanters' right wing, where Major-General Sir David Leslie commanded, and threw it into confusion. The latter, he adds, prognosticating no good from the general results of the day, rallied some squadrons of horse, and crying aloud that rather than be defeated he would die on the field, was advancing at their head, when Sir Adam Hepburn, of Hailes (a Lord of Session, who was near as one of the Committee of the Scottish army), with clasped hands begged him not to hazard his person rashly, which so enraged Sir David at such a moment that Lord Leven with difficulty prevented him passing his sword through Hepburn's body. While in this part of the field so much confusion reigned, Prince Rupert with his cavalry broke "like a storm of irresistible fury into the right wing of the Scots," and drove them fairly out of the field, his cavalry firing their pistols, then flinging them at the foe, and charging home with the sword. Sir Thomas Fairfax, with a regiment of lancers and 500 of his own horse, made a stand for some time, but ultimately he was wounded and put to the rout, leaving his brother dead behind him. Rupert still leading the way with a mingled force of horse and foot, penetrated down the lanes before mentioned, and forming in order at the other end, advanced, and in ten minutes that wing of the Republicans was as decidedly defeated as their other, under Cromwell, was victorious. "The fight was very sharp," says Menteith. "All the generals of the Covenanted army fled; Leslie (Leven?) to Wetherby, and Fairfax to Cawood, there being nothing but confusion and disorder on all sides" ("Troubles," 1725). "According to vulgar accounts of the battle," remarks Gleig, "the two hosts changed ground; but this is manifestly an error, they merely faced round, the one side wheeling upon their centre to the left, the other making a similar evolution to the right. Unfortunately, however, the impetuosity of Prince Rupert led him, as usual, too far in the pursuit, while Cromwell not less cool than daring, held his men steadily in hand; yet when the victors on both sides did meet, the meeting was stiff and stern. In the first shock Cromwell was wounded, and his men reeled and wavered. Had there been any adequate support at hand, even now the day might have been retrieved; but ere Rupert could recall or form the troops which he had permitted to scatter in the chase, a second and still fiercer Marston Moor.} THE LOSSES AT MARSTON. 233 onset followed. The attack was made by General When day dawned, the vast heath, the drain, The aspect of the field, when he returned from his usual fast and fiery pursuit, is said to have struck dismay even to the impetuous heart of Rupert. Lord Hollis again strangely affirms that at Marston Moor Cromwell behaved with the utmost cowardice (see his Memoirs, p. 15), and that those who did the best service were the Scottish generals, Leslie and Crawford, with Sir Thomas Fairfax. The Scots cavalry claimed the victory for themselves; and thus, partly upon private grounds and partly upon public, was created a breach, which each successive military operation between those jealous allies, no matter how well conducted, continued to widen. The Parliament and General Assembly of Scotland directed a universal thanksgiving throughout all that kingdom for so great a victory. It was late in the evening when Rupert with the jaded remains of his army reached York, and appeared at the Micklegate Bar, where there ensued a scene of confusion, rage, and suffering-as so many were severely wounded-beyond all description, as none were permitted to enter the city save the soldiers of the garrison, an absurd and pitiful distinction at such a crisis. This caution made the admittance slow and tedious; while hundreds of the soldiers, fainting under wounds, fatigue, and anxiety, filled the air with cries of pain and sounds of distress (Slingsby's Memoirs). The Parliamentarians remained on the field, where the fanatical Earl of Manchester rode through their ranks, thanking the troops for their gallant conduct, and exhorting them to ascribe their success to the Lord of Hosts. He added that it was impossible at that late hour to administer to any of their wounds or necessities; but that at daybreak every requisite attention should be paid to friend and foe without distinction. Cromwell spent the night amid the dead and dying, and to him it was one of keen anxiety and suspense. His horse were exhausted, and he knew not the moment that the Prince Rupert might attack him with his usual fury; but with morning came the pleasant tidings that he had hastened by a circuitous route to York. In Whitelock's Memoirs (London, 1682), it is reckoned that in the battle and pursuit were slain "7,000 Englishmen ; all agree that above 3,000 of the prince's men were slain, besides those in the chase, and 3,000 prisoners taken, many of their chief officers, twenty-five pieces of ordnance, fortyseven colours, 10,000 arms, two wagons of carbines and pistols, 130 barrels of powder." Lord Clarendon informs us that the unfortunate king, previous to receiving the true account of the battle, had been informed by an express from Oxford “that Prince Rupert had not only relieved York, but totally defeated the Scots, with many particulars to confirm it; all of which was so much believed there, that they had made public fires of joy for the victory." The peasantry counted, it is said, 4,150 for whom they made graves; "two-thirds of these were gentlemen and persons of quality. The principal persons slain on the king's side were the Lord Kerry, Sir William Wentworth, Sir Francis Dacres, Sir William Lampton, and Sir Charles Slingsby, knight, who was buried in York Minster; Colonel John Fenwick, whose body was never found; Sir Marmaduke Luddon, Sir Thomas Wetham (Captain of the Yorkshire Gentlemen Volunteers), Sir Richard Gledhill, and Sir Richard Graham, of Norton Conyers, a gallant and active Cavalier, who received no less than twenty-six wounds, and yet reached his own house on the night of the battle, only to die about an hour after; and Captain John Baird, a Scot ("England's Black Tribunal ").. There were taken prisoners Generals Sir Charles Lucas, Porter, and Tilliard, and the Lord Goring's son, with 1,500 others. Sir Charles was requested to point out such bodies amongst the slain as he wished to select for private interment. In performing this mournful office, he singled out the body of one Cavalier who had a bracelet of silky hair about his wrist, and desired it to be taken off, "as he knew an honourable lady who would thankfully receive it" (Vicars). The principal persons slain on the side of the Parliament were Major Fairfax, and Charles, brother of Sir Thomas Fairfax, aged twenty-three, Captains Micklethwaite and Pugh, with about 300 subalterns and privates. The wounded were only Cromwell's nephew, Captain Walton, and about twenty others. But these lists were all irrespective of the Scots, BUFF COAT WORN BY COLONEL FAIRFAX AT NASEBY, 1645. which a mastiff seemed to be snatching; on a label at his mouth was the word "Kimbolton;" at his feet were little beagles, and before their mouths were written, "Pym, Pym, Pym." From the mouth of the lion proceeded the words, "Quousque tandem abutere patientia nostrâ ?" The little beagles must have referred to the famous Pym, who died in that year, and who Hume says was "a man as much hated by one party as respected by the other. At London he was considered the victim to national liberty, who had abridged his life by incessant labours for the interests of his country. At Oxford he was believed to have been struck It is strange that two survivors of Cromwell's famous Ironsides were alive later than the middle of the last century. These were Alexander Macculloch, residing near Aberdeen at the time of his death, in 1757, aged one hundred and thirty; and Colonel Thomas Winslow, of Tipperary, in Ireland, where he died at the extraordinary age of one hundred and forty-six years. He held the rank of captain when accompanying Oliver on the famous expedition to Ireland in 1649. But perhaps the most remarkable relic of that period transmitted to our own time was the son of one of Oliver's drummers, which son was living near Manchester |