An Exact and full RELATION OF THE LAST FIGHT, Between the KINGS Forces and Sir WILLIAM WALLER. Sent in a Letter from an Officer in the Army to his friend in London.
Printed to prevent miſ-information.
LONDON Printed for Ben. Allen, in Popes-Head-Alley.
July 5. 1644.
WEE have thought good to give you the beſt and trueſt Relation of our late paſſages, and Gods providence towards us. After ſeverall dayes marching; on thurſday night laſt about ſeven of the Clock wee faced the Kings body at Cropready bridge neare Banbury, and all day, the next day, and yeſterday till noone being Saturday, about ten of the clock in the forenoone wee diſcovered their Army to be upon the march towards Daintry: and as ſome (who were ſince taken priſoners) affirme, their entent was from thence to York: Whereupon command was given to ſome particular perſons to advance after them, and fall in their Reere: But it proved the middle of their whole body.
4According to the order, our Regiment of Horſe and Collonell Vandroſſes, advanced under the Command of Lievtenant Generall Middleton, and Captain Butler, Adjutant Generall, and foure Companies of Farnbam foote, and five Companies of Sir Williams owne Regiment, under the Command of Lievtenant Collonell Baines, (ſometime a Brewer in London) Quarter-Maſter Generall to the foote.
They had placed a Guard to ſecure Cropready-bridge, which wee readily beat off, and made the bridge our owne by a partie of Dragoons, and paſt over the River between us and Banbury, (for till then we were on the one ſide of the River, and they on the other) being over the River, through miſ-information, wee too ſpeedily purſued the enemy, (being enformed that their whole bodie was marched away, when as a third part of them were left behinde unknowne to us. Wee purſued them above a mile, till we came to a bridge, where their Foot made a ſtand, drew up and fac'd us; wee being within Musket ſhot of them, onely our foure eldeſt Troops, (viz.) Sir Arthurs, Captaine Okees; Captaine Foleyes, and Captaine Gardners: They overthrew a Carriage to barricado the bridge, and planted it with Muskettiers. This occaſioned our Retreat back againe, being unwilling too farre to engage our ſelves, having no Foot within above halfe a mile of us, and diſcovering their Army behind us, upon our retreat wee diſcovered the party of Foot (drawne over with us) by an unreſiſtable body of the enemies Horſe, of ſome thirty Troops, and two regiments of Foot put to diſorderly retreat, which haſtened our march back againe, and comming back we found the way to the bridge within a quarter of a mile, ſtopt with the enemies Horſe and Foot, who were got between our Foot and the bridge: For whoſe reliefe (although our way backe lay on the right hand, we advanced up to their body on the left hand up the hill, and with our foure Troops charged the Kings owne Regiment, and put5 them to a retreat; but the other Troop commming downe upon us, (there being of them in all ſome three Regiments) with whom we were in no caſe able to deale, we were neceſſitated to retreat very diſorderly, having put their body of Horſe into a combuſtion, having ſlain three Colonels, wherof one was Sir William Butler, a Papiſt of Kent, Lieutenant generall of Horſe (viz.) Wilmut was ſore wounded, and his Lieutenant Generall taken priſoner, and committed to the cuſtody of two Souldiers, who in our diſorderly retreat loſt him againe: We ſlue divers other of their Officers both in our charge and in our retreat, the way being filled with their foot and horſe, many whereof were wounded ſorely, ſlew others, and took ſome priſoners. Comming back to the Bridge, the Hamblets very honourably and ſtoutly made good the Bridge, kept back the enemy, and recovered three peeces of our Ordnance, which we had loſt; we having loſt ſome half a dozen ſmall peeces beſides, which were unadviſedly drawne over before the Foot were ready to march along with them, and the men running a way with the horſe, we could not draw them back again: being over th bridge, we rallied together, and drew our body toward anoher place of the river, where the enemy made ſhew of comming over, but we kept them on the other ſide; although we could not attain what we attempted, yet we hereby bravely cauſed them to draw back their whol body from their march onward toward Daintry, wch muſt retard their journy to York. Having faced them ſeveral hours together, towards evening the King ſent his trumpeter to our General, wth a meſſage to this effect, that if our General pleaſed, he would ſend a Herald of Armes, which at the head of our Army ſhould proclaim a gracious Meſſage. The anſwer from our Generall was returned thus, That he had no commiſſion to treat with his Majeſtie concerning peace; but if he pleaſed to ſend to the two Houſes of Parliament, wee ſhould remain his faithfull ſubjects. In the time of our facing wee exchanged ſeverall Cannon ſhot, as we conceive fourty ſhot apiece, but through Gods mercy, all their Cannon ſhot gave6 us but the loſſe of one horſe, not one man; but our ſhot, the Lord ſo ordering it, cauſed them to draw backe their body out of our reach, where they abode all night. Wee tooke in the fight two Horſe Colours of theirs, and we loſt three Foot Colours, we have loſt Lievtenant Colonell Baines, who as we heare, would not take quarter, we have loſt Col. Wembs, Collonell of our Artillery, and Lievtenant Collonell Baker, Lievtenant Collonell to Sir Williams Regiment of foote.
Wee have loſt of ours, and taken priſoners neare upon one hundred, or ſix ſcore. Captaine Okes has loſt ſome ten men, whereof one Maſter Creſey it one: Captain Gardner hath loſt neer as many: Captain Foleys foure, and three wounded, whereof one Thomas Steme, an apprentiſe formerly to Maſter Lloyd, who lived in Watling-ſtreet is one, being ſhot into the thigh, the thigh-bone broke, and run through both buttocks with a tuck: We this day ſent him and another, one John Nicklis to Warwicke, there to be carefully provided for. We have loſt but one Officer in all our Regiment, praiſed be God, and that is Captain Perries Cornet.
It was an infinite mercy of God we had not been all loſt, which we deſire may bee taken notice of, with ſolemne thankes to God almightie, who was our onely helper: as alſo for the double good effect it wrought; viz. it drew their body back from marching toward York; and wee relieved ſome ſix hundred horſe that were comming to joyne with us, whom the enemy had faced above a quarter of an houre, comming from Northampton, who had not wee take this courſe, in all probabilitie they had been all cut off. Wee have taken a Major of the Kings owne Regiment, his name is Webbe, he is mortally wounded, not likely to recover: Our Officers and Souldiers are very well, and very cheerefull, willingly content to goe on with the work, if we can but be ſupplyed with bread and water, our lodging having for ſeverall nights been, and ſtill is, on Gods cold earth, over-ſhaddowed with the Canopie of7 heavens ſweet Firmament, and God in much mercy hath afforded us ſweet temperate weather; nothing hath been ſo ſhort with us as Bread for men, the earth afford ng graſſe for our horſes. Wee ſtill continue facing one another, the River between us, wee maintain Cropready-bridge, and hinder their paſſage over to us, waiting what they will do, and expecting further ſupplyes, either from Col. Brown, Lord Gray, Collonel Murey, or the Earle of Denbigh, whom it pleaſes God to ſend. They have a far larger body of horſe then wee, but for foot wee dare incounter, being no ways fearfull to deal with their horſe.
Wee deſire not to bury the mercies of God in oblivion, but to tell of his loving kindneſſe, and deſire that all our friends may be acquainted with his goodneſſe to us in this delivery, that they may be the better ſtirred up, both in publique and private to bleſſe God, and rejoyce with us.
We deſire your prayers for our good ſucceſſe, and that is the greateſt comfort that under God wee have, that wee have a ſtock of prayers ſtill going on among all Gods people. His Majeſty was under a tree in the field not above Piſtoll ▪ ſhot where wee charged his horſe, as ſome of our own men, and ſome of their priſoners affirm. Wee have about 80. of theirs priſoners; there is now another Trumpeter come from his Majeſty, but for what we know not, it is ſure no parley, for our Cannon playes at them. My Capt. man, Henry Philips the Barbar is taken priſoner: my man Thomas Suger charged with mee, and came off, bleſſed be God, ſafe and well, and did good ſervice.
All our Officers and Souldiers in this buſineſſe behaved themſelves very ſtoutly. Lievtenant Generall Middleton, and Adjutant Generall Butler, charged with us very gallantly; Lievtenant Generall Middleton was accidentally diſmounted, and one of Captain Okes his men diſmounted, and mounted him on his horſe, and after brought off the Lievetenant Generalls owne horſe and piſtols,8 for which the Lievtenant Generall hath made him a Captain Lievtenant, and he ſhall be his childe ſo long as he lives. I fear the Poſt will be gone, I take leave, a thouſand times farewell, the Lord preſerve you and us all, which is the deſire of thy truly loving Brother till death,
THe Trumpeter from his Majeſty, as I hear, brings this meſſage: that the King will give our Generall leave to march away with his foot and horſe, provided he will leave his Artillery and Ammunition behind him, but bleſſed be our God, we are not in that ſtrait as yet; were wee, wee would rather chooſe to leave ſome of our blood to doe him good. Severall friends I know will ſend to ſee this Letter, therefore I pray thee beſtow a dozen of points thereon,
Vale.
(EEBO-TCP ; phase 2, no. A84388)
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