poorer classes usually went with their landlords. Men of equal nobility and purity of motive were to be found on either side.

Nottingham.

In the autumn both parties had armies in the field. The king raised his standard at Nottingham, but fixed his head-quarters at Shrewsbury, where his followers from all parts Charles raises could join him. His great object was to march on his standard at London, and bring the war to a close by a decisive success. Essex' aim was to keep Charles at a distance from the capital, and for this end he placed garrisons in a series of towns from Northampton to Worcester to bar the king's path. Essex himself seized Worcester, where he had a smart combat with Prince Rupert, son of the Princess Elizabeth, who had come over to help his uncle. When the royal forces were collected at Moves towards Shrewsbury, Charles moved by forced marches towards London, and, passing between Essex' garrisons, gained a day's march on that general.

London.

OPERATIONS CONNECTED WITH EDGEHILL, OCTOBER 23, 1642.

The roads to London from Shrewsbury and Worcester met at Banbury, near which the king turned aside and occupied a strong position on Edgehill, over which Essex would have to pass.

The first battle of the civil war was fought here on October 23,

Battle of

1642. The king lost the advantage of his position by marching down to fight Essex on the plain. On the Royalist Edgehill. right Prince Rupert and his cavaliers carried all before them, but in the centre Essex' infantry held their own, and when Rupert returned he found that the day had gone against the king.

Though Charles had failed to beat Essex, he was still nearer to London than Essex was, but the latter, rapidly marching to Northampton, outstripped Charles, who, on reaching the capital, found it unassailable, and was obliged to retire to Oxford.

Death of

The next year, 1643, saw fighting going on in all parts of England. In the south, Essex and the king faced one another on the road between Oxford and London; in Cornwall and Devonshire, Sir William Waller for the Parliament, opposed Sir Ralph Hopton; in the east, Cromwell and the Earl of Manchester were fighting the Royalists of the fens; and in the north, Ferdinand Lord Fairfax and his son Sir Thomas led their tenants and the men of the clothing towns against the Earl of Newcastle, with whom was Henrietta Maria. The year opened disastrously for the Parliament. At Chalgrove Field, near Oxford, Hampden was killed Hampden. while trying to cut off a troop of Rupert's horse. At Roundaway Down, near Devizes, Sir William Waller was utterly defeated, and Prince Rupert stormed the defences of Bristol, and the town was surrendered. Rupert's success was, however, dearly purchased by the loss of many officers, and of five hundred "incomparable foot," while the pillage to which the Parliamentarians of the place were subjected made resistance elsewhere more desperate. In the north, the Fairfaxes were beaten at Atherton Moor, now spelt Adwalton, and forced to take refuge in Hull. Only in the east did the Parliamentarians hold their own.

Siege of

Encouraged by his success, Charles wished Newcastle to join with him in a decisive march on London. Newcastle, however, refused, and the king was obliged to give up his plan and Gloucester. to besiege Gloucester, which, now that Bristol had fallen, was the only stronghold of the Parliament in the Severn Essex raises Valley. Gloucester, however, fearful of the fate of Bristol, made a stout resistance, and Essex, marching with the London train-bands, raised the siege. At Newbury, on the Kennet, the king tried to bar Essex' return to London; but the attempt

the siege.

Newbury.

failed and Falkland was killed. Charles then retreated to Oxford, and Essex passed on to London. Meanwhile Cromwell First battle of had defeated the Royalist forces at Gainsborough and Winceby, and Newcastle bimself had been forced to raise the siege of Hull. The year, therefore, though checkered, closed well for the Parliament.

The Solemn
League and
Covenant.

In the winter both parties tried to secure allies. Parliament, under the guidance of Pym, signed with the Scots the Solemn League and Covenant, and an army of twenty-one thousand men crossed the border to fight in the Parliament's pay. This act, which marks the highest power to which the Presbyterians attained, was Pym's last achievement, for he died at the end of the year. The king, on his part, made a truce with the Irish rebels, and a contingent from with the Irish. his Irish army landed in Wales. At the same time Charles, by the advice of Hyde, called a Parliament at Oxford.

Charles allies

Battle of Nantwich.

The year 1644 opened well for the Parliament. In January, Sir Thomas Fairfax, defeated the Irish contingent at Nantwich, and then turning north routed, in April, an outpost which Newcastle had placed at Selby, on the Ouse, for the defence of York. The defeat at Selby forced Newcastle to retreat before the Scottish army to York, where he was besieged by the united forces of the Scots, the Fairfaxes, and the army of the eastern counties under Lord Manchester and Cromwell. In the south, Essex and Waller attempted to hem the king into Oxford with a view to besieging the town; but Charles cleverly passed between the two armies, and then returning, fought them in detail. Waller was routed at Cropredy Bridge, near Banbury, and then the Royalists Battle of Cropforced Essex to retreat before them into Cornwall, redy Bridge. where his army surrendered at Lostwithiel, and Essex himself escaped by sea to London.

Siege of York.

This great success was, however, balanced by a still greater disaster in the north. After leaving Oxford, the king had ordered Prince Rupert to raise the siege of York. The prince made his way by Cheshire and Lancashire to Yorkshire, and, after crossing the Aire at Skipton, and the Wharfe at Otley, reached Knaresborough, on the Nidd.

When news of his arrival reached the allies, they raised the siege of York and drew up to meet him on Marston Moor, opposite the place where the usual road from Knaresborough to York crosses the Nidd at Skip Bridge. Rupert, however, eluded them by marching north, and, crossing the Ure and the Swale above their junction, came down the left bank of the Ouse and relieved York. Upon this the Parliamentarians retreated south, in order to hold the line of the Wharfe against Rupert's return. But the Royalists marched out

of York against them, and the Parliamentarians then halted and drew up on the rising ground on the south side of the moor. However, as the Royalists did not attack them, they took the offensive. Rupert's Cavaliers were routed at the first charge, and though Newcastle's foot made a stout resistance, the Royalist forces Battle of were completely overthrown. The battle of Marston Marston Moor. Moor utterly ruined the king's cause in the north, and Newcastle himself fled to the Continent. Rupert with difficulty rejoined the king. After this victory, Manchester and Cromwell, leaving Fairfax and the Scots to besiege Pontefract, marched south, and joined Essex in an attempt to cut off the king's return from

Cornwall to Oxford. The two armies met at Newbury, and the king was worsted; but Manchester's hesitation prevented Cromwell from charging the retreating Royalists with his Ironsides, so the king was able to regain Oxford.

This failure brought to a head the discontent of the more energetic members of the Parliamentary party. These for the most part were Independents in religion, while the moderate members were Presbyterians. The leaders of the moderates were Essex, Manchester, and Waller; Cromwell led the Inde

Rise of Cromwell.

The Ironsides.

pendents. This great man had rapidly been coming to the front. He had been the first to see that the feelings of loyalty and honour which inspired the Cavaliers could only be met by religious enthusiasm. At first the Parliamentary armies were strong in infantry but weak in cavalry. Cromwell, however, found among the farmers' sons of the eastern counties as good riders as the gentry, and men inspired with the utmost zeal for the cause of their religion. From them he formed his Ironsides, and drilled them into one of the finest bodies of horse the world had then seen. Moor, and only Manchester's hesitation hindered them from crushing the royal forces at Newbury. The Independents now came forward, and declared that the army must be remodelled, and that the old generals must retire. As these happened to be members of Parliament, a Self-denying Ordinance was passed, by which The Self-denyall members were deprived of their commands. Thus ing Ordinance. Essex, Manchester, and Waller were removed; but Cromwell's services were so valuable that they were retained by a special Act of Parliament, renewed from time to time.

These men carried the day at Marston

During the winter negotiations with the king had been going on at Uxbridge; but Charles, who was not yet discouraged, refused to come to terms. In January, 1645, by a monstrous act of injustice, Archbishop Laud, who was innocent of any crime, was attainted and executed.

Charles refuses to come to terms. Execution of Archbishop

Laud.

By the summer the new model army, consisting of fourteen thousand foot and seven thousand horse, was ready,

and was put under the command of Sir Thomas Fair

Battle of
Naseby.

fax. Fairfax and Cromwell met the king at Naseby, near Leicester,