I were fent to Yorkke to join ye pikemen and ye Lord Strange, Earl of Derby's, Regiment of Artillery.
They be ye the Militia of ye Isle of Mann, so I beene welcomed in their midst, as I be a Jerseye Militia Bear myself.
Ye greate Civil Warre that plagues this fair land bringes forth all manner of fighting menne and wommen. Yet myne hosts was a most hospitable crewe, and took greate care of me in their battailes. I was placed for safety in ye "ambulance" during the close fighting; my Bearer should have left his "camera" with me, for it suffered sorely during the clash of pikemen and fought no more that day. Later I passed amongst the peoples desiring money, and were goodly pleased to find I garnered some £100 pounds for holidays4heroes!
As we were fighting for the King we unfortunately lost the day. The gentleman in the red sash is our regimental CO, Stuart 'Hopi' Hopwood. The Regiment pictured with Braille is Budgies. On the battle field he saw all sorts pike pushes, musket firing, a cannon. and the best bit of all ... the beer tent where must of the money was raised. The Bearer did a great job of prying him from clingy womenkind while getting them to put money in the pot!
When; July 2, 1644
Where; Long Marston, Yorkshire
Who; Royalist troops under the Marquess of Newcastle and Prince Rupert vs. an allied army of Parliamentary and Scottish troops led by Sir Thomas Fairfax and Lord Manchester
Why; The Civil War was going badly for Royalist forces in the north of England. The Marquess of Newcastle was forced to fall back on the fortified city of York, where he was besieged by Parliamentary armies under Sir Thomas Fairfax.
Prince Rupert led a relief force of perhaps 7000 cavalry and as many footsoldiers north to the relief of the city.
Fairfax broke off the siege and marched his men south to prevent Rupert from reaching the approaches to York. The ever-daring Rupert surprised the Parliamentary generals by marching around their position and reaching the city anyway.
The Battle
Never one to pull back from a fight, Rupert now ordered his tired men out from York to surprise the enemy. They met a numerically superior force numbering perhaps 27,000 men.
By the time the armies were in position it was late in the day, and Rupert, convinced that his foe would not attack until the morning, left the field in search of his supper. Lord Newcastle, perhaps more reprehensibly, retired to his coach for a quiet smoke.
The Parliamentary army surprised the Royalists totally by an attack which must have begun just as dusk was falling at 7pm. The fierce fighting lasted for several hours, eerily illuminated by a harvest moon. The Royalist cavalry under the returned Rupert was ousted after fierce fighting, but it was the infantry that won the day (or night, in this case).
The Result
The Royalists lost as many as 3000 men, plus their artillery train. York was forced to surrender to Parliament and the north of England was effectively lost to the King.
Prince Rupert lost his glowing reputation of invincibility in battle, but Marston Moor made the reputation of another man; Oliver Cromwell made a name for himself for his role in defeating the Royalist cavalry.
Comments (4)
...
Now if he had been with us Parliamentarians it would have been a different matter.
& we have better wenches.
Write comment
Show/Hide comment form
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
Holidays 4 Heroes is an informal group of people that assists wounded service personnel and their families get a precious break from the routine of rehab, hospital appointments and visits to welfare offices by facilitating holidays away from it all in accommodation donated by our sponsors in the UK and abroad. 
Deals with the cases that either lie outside the normal remit of the main Service Charities, or require a faster response than they can usually provide. Sometimes the cases require financial assistance, a little bit of nudging in the right direction for long-term help, or the application of a bit of expertise.