The Second Civil War

From Wikireedia
Jump to: navigation, search

Parliament had one the war on the field but quickly lost it in the hearts and minds of the people. High taxes levied to pay for the army was one way that they showed how much they had learned from Charles 1 in their ability to raise taxes in various forms. The banning of holy days such as Christmas, Easter and Whitsun only antagonized a people weary of war and wanting to get back to a pre-war footing with familiar festivals. This was no longer the Merrie England they imagined and what were once anti-Roylists started to show some sympathy to their imprisoned King. Charles was hoping to exploit and stoke this disaffection. Riots broke out at Ipswich and Canterbury over Christmas and London over taxes.

in the meantime the monarchy was still held in awe and there was an upsurge in pro-Royalist writings despite Cromwell's attempt to suppress plays, theatres and pamphlets. The authoritarian approach of Parliament was losing them support. One such incident in Wales underlines that. The incident occurred on 1648 when Colonel Poyer, governor of Pembroke, refused to hand over Pembroke Castle to his successor as ordered by Parliament until his troops’ arrears of pay had been settled. On 3 March, Parliament declared Poyer and his troops traitors unless they surrendered the castle immediately. This high-handed over reaction by Parliament only succeeded in further antagonising Poyer and his men, and at the end of the month Poyer declared for the king.

Oliver Cromwell was able to defeat the rebels but immediately was ordered north to take on the Scots. Two factions had emerged in Edinburgh: those who remained loyal to the treaty of 1643 with the English Parliament, led by Archibald Campbell, first marquess of Argyll, and the majority of the Kirk – known as Covenanters; and those who favoured the Engagement with the king, led by the James Hamilton, first duke of Hamilton – known as the Engagers. With the Engagers in the ascendant in early 1648 preparations were made to raise an army to invade England and rescue the king. Hamilton had marched south into Lancashire hoping that local Royalists would join him. Cromwell and Lambert crossed the Pennines in pursuit.

Unaware of the proximity of the New Model, Hamilton’s army was strung out in a line between Preston and Wigan, and it was at Preston on 17 August 1648 that Cromwell and Lambert encountered the Engager infantry and their Royalist allies under Sir Marmaduke Langdale. In the ensuing battle the Engagers and Royalists were defeated.

Insurgency, for that was what it was, was rife in Kent and East Anglia. The rioters captured and imprisoned the Norfolk County Committee as well as seizing the county magazine, which then exploded, destroying or damaging a large area of the city and killing over 100 people. On 4 May over 2,000 petitioners from Essex descended on Westminster, calling on Parliament to restore the king and disband the Army. On the 11th a grand jury in Canterbury dismissed all charges against those who had taken part in the Christmas riots and a petition similar to that from Essex was prepared. The following day, Royalist rioters in Bury St Edmunds seized the county magazine.

Rebellion flared up in Kent when the County Committee tried to suppress the county’s petition. Rochester, Sittingbourne, Faversham and Sandwich were seized in the king’s name. large number of ships defected to them, allowing them to take control of the coastal fortresses of Sandown, Deal and Walmer. Meanwhile the insurgents had taken Dartford, Deptford and the naval dockyards at Chatham.

The task of facing the Kentish rebels fell to Fairfax, and with his approach the insurgents abandoned Deptford and fell back on Dartford, appointing the Royalist George Goring, the first earl of Norwich, as their leader. Fairfax moved into Kent and marched towards Maidstone where, on 1 June, the insurgent forces were decisively beaten. Colchester was to be the place where the third major threat to Parliament was to be neutralised.

When Fairfax laid siege to Colchester on 13 June 1648 its defenders had a reasonable hope that their cause could yet prosper. Colonel Poyer still held Pembroke Castle and the duke of Hamilton was preparing a large Engager army with which to invade England and rescue the king. But the fatal flaw in all these actions was that they were not coordinated. This enabled Fairfax, Cromwell and the New Model to pick off each rebellion, revolt or invasion one by one. When news came through of the defeat of Hamilton and the Engagers at Preston, Lisle and Lucas realised that it was useless to continue the fight. On 27 August, Colchester surrendered to Fairfax and, two days later, Lisle and Lucas were condemned by a court martial and executed by firing squad outside Colchester Castle.

The victorious Presbyterians now believed that with the king defeated for the second time it was sure to negotiate in good faith. The latest treaty in a long line of treaties was called the Treaty of Newport Negotiations were scheduled not last more than forty days but the king prevaricated. He seemed to make a few concessions that he had previously refuted but he also sent word to the Marquis of Ormond to disregard anything he said in captivity.

The army had had enough. They had resolved to bring that man of blood to account and drew up their own Army Remonstrance which intended to cut off negotiations with the King for good and bring him to trial.

The country was slowing sliding towards the Regicide



You need to have JavaScript enabled to view the interactive timeline. Further results for this query.
Facts about The Second Civil WarRDF feed
PersonCharles 1 +, Oliver Cromwell + and James Hamilton +
DateThis property is a special property in this wiki.22 February 1648 +
Personal tools
Namespaces

Variants
Actions
Navigation
Toolbox