DETERMINATION TO RELIEVE NEWARK.

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to chase them, but contented enough to have repulsed and beaten them off, and our business being to relieve Newark, we proceeded.

If we are to reckon by the enemy's usual method, we got the victory, because we kept the field, and had the pillage of their dead; but, otherwise, neither side had any great cause to boast. We lost about one hundred and fifty men, and near as many hurt; they left one hundred and seventy on the spot, and carried off some. How many they had wounded we could not tell; we got seventy or eighty horses, which helped to remount some of our men that had lost theirs in the fight. We had, however, this disadvantage, that we were to march on immediately after this service; the enemy only to retire to their quarters, which was but hard by. This was an injury to our wounded men, whom we were after obliged to leave at Belvoir Castle, and from thence we advanced to Newark.

Our business at Newark was to relieve the place, and this we resolved to do, whatever it cost, though, at the same time, we resolved not to fight, unless we were forced to it. The town was rather blocked up than besieged; the garrison was strong, but ill provided; we had sent them word of our coming, and our orders to relieve them, and they proposed some measures for our doing it. The chief strength of the enemy lay on the other side of the river; but they having also some notice of our design, had sent over forces to strengthen their leaguer on this side. The garrison had often surprised them by sallies, and indeed had chiefly subsisted for some time by what they brought in in this manner.

Sir Marmaduke Langdale, who was our general for the expedition, was for a general attempt to raise the siege; but I had persuaded him off that: first, because if we should be beaten, as might be probable, we then lost the town. Sir Marmaduke briskly replied, A soldier ought never to suppose he shall be beaten. But, sir, says I, you'll get more honour by relieving the town, than by beating them: one will be a credit to your conduct, as the other will be to your courage; and, if you think you can beat them, you may do it afterwards, and then, if you are mistaken, the town is nevertheless secured, and half your victory gained.

He was prevailed with to adhere to this advice, and accordingly we appeared before the town about two hours

before night. The horse drew up before the enemy's works; the enemy drew up within their works, and seeing no foot, expected when our dragoons would dismount and attack them. They were in the right to let us attack them, because of the advantage of their batteries and works, if that had been our design; but, as we intended only to amuse them, this caution of theirs effected our design; for, while we thus faced them with our horse, two regiments of foot, which came up to us but the night before, and was all the infantry we had, with the waggons of provisions, and five hundred dragoons, taking a compass clean round the town, posted themselves on the lower side of the town by the river. Upon a signal the garrison agreed on before, they sallied out at this very juncture, with all the men they could spare, and dividing themselves in two parties, while one party moved to the left to meet our relief, the other party tell on upon part of that body which faced us. We kept in motion, and upon this signal advanced to their works, and our dragoons fired upon them; and the horse wheeling and countermarching often, kept them continually expecting to be attacked. By this means the enemy were kept employed, and our foot, with the waggons, appearing on that quarter where they were least expected, easily defeated the advanced guards, and forced that post, where entering the leaguer, the other part of the garrison, who had sallied that way, came up to them, received the waggons, and the dragoons entered with them into the town. That party, which we faced on the other side of the works, knew nothing of what was done till all was over; the garrison retreated in good order, and we drew off, having finished what we came for without fighting.

Thus we plentifully stored the town with all things wanting, and with an addition of five hundred dragoons to their garrison; after which we marched away without fighting a stroke. Our next orders were to relieve Pontefract Castle, another garrison of the king's, which had been besieged ever since a few days after the fight at Marston-moor, by the Lord Fairfax, Sir Thomas Fairfax, and other generals in their turn.

By the way, we were joined with eight hundred horse out of Derbyshire, and some foot, so many as made us about four thousand five hundred men in all.

COLONEL FORBES COMMANDS THE SIEGE.

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CHAPTER XV.

ACTION WITH COLONEL FORBES, A SCOTCHMAN-I VISIT MY FATHER, WHO IS PRISONER OF WAR AT SHREWSBURY, AND OBTAIN HIS EXCHANGE-SIR THOMAS FAIRFAX APPOINTED GENERAL OF THE PARLIAMENT ARMY-THE KING'S OBSERVATION THEREUPON-LEICESTER TAKEN BY STORM -BATTLE OF NASEBY FATAL CONSEQUENCES THEREOF THE KING RETIRES TO WALES.

COLONEL Forbes, a Scotchman, commanded at the siege, in the absence of the Lord Fairfax; the colonel had sent to my lord for more troops, and his lordship was gathering his forces to come up to him; but he was pleased to come too late. We came up with the enemy's leaguer about the break of day, and having been discovered by their scouts, they, with more courage than discretion, drew out to meet us. We saw no

reason to avoid them, being stronger in horse than they; and though we had but a few foot, we had a thousand dragoons, which helped us out. We had placed our horse and foot throughout in one line, with two reserves of horse, and between every division of horse, a division of foot, only that, on the extremes of our wings, there were two parties of horse on each point by themselves, and the dragoons in the centre on foot. Their foot charged us home, and stood with push of pike a great while; but their horse charging our horse and musketeers, and being closed on the flanks with those two extended troops on our wings, they were presently disordered, and fled out of the field. The foot thus deserted, were charged on every side, and broken. They retreated still fighting, and in good order, for a while; but the garrison sallying upon them at the same time, and being followed close by our horse, they were scattered, entirely routed, and most of them killed. The Lord Fairfax was come with his horse as far as Ferrybridge, but the fight was over; and all he could do was to rally those that fled, and save some of their carriages, which else had fallen into our hands. We drew up our little army in order of battle the next day, expecting the Lord Fairíax

would have charged us; but his lordship was so far from any such thoughts, that he placed a party of dragoons, with orders to fortify the pass at Ferrybridge, to prevent our falling upon him in his retreat, which he needed not have done; for having raised the siege of Pontefract, our business was done, we had nothing to say to him, unless we had been strong enough to stay.

We lost not above thirty men in this action, and the enemy three hundred, with about a hundred and fifty prisoners, one piece of cannon, all their ammunition, a thousand arms, and most of their baggage; and Colonel Lambert was once taken prisoner, being wounded, but got off again.

We brought no relief for the garrison, but the opportunity to furnish themselves out of the country, which they did very plentifully. The ammunition taken from the enemy was given to them, which they wanted, and was their due, for they had seized it in the sally they made, before the enemy was quite defeated.

I cannot omit taking notice, on all occasions, how exceeding serviceable this method was of posting musketeers in the intervals, among the horse, in all this war. I persuaded our generals to it, as much as possible, and I never knew a body of horse beaten that did so; yet I had great difficulty to prevail upon our people to believe it, though it was taught me by the greatest general in the world, viz., the King of Sweden. Prince Rupert did it at the battle of Marston-moor; and had the Earl of Newcastle not been obstinate against it in his right wing, as I observed before, the day had not been lost. In discoursing this with Sir Marmaduke Langdale, I had related several examples of the serviceableness of these small bodies of firemen, and, with great difficulty, brought him to agree, telling him, I would be answerable for the success; but, after the fight, he told me plainly he saw the advantage of it, and would never fight otherwise again, if he had any foot to place. So having relieved these two places, we hastened, by long marches, through Derbyshire, to join Prince Rupert on the edge of Shropshire and Cheshire. We found Colonel Roseter had followed us at a distance, ever since the business at Melton-Mowbray, but never cared to attack us, and we found he did the like still. Our general would fain have been doing with him again, but we found him too shy. Once we laid a trap for him at Dove-bridge, between Derby

JOIN PRINCE RUPERT IN CHESHIRE.

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and Burton-upon-Trent, the body being marched two days before; three hundred dragoons were left to guard the bridge, as if we were afraid he should fall upon us. Upon this we marched, as I said, on to Burton, and, the next day, fetching a compass round, came to a village near Titbury Castle, whose name I forgot, where we lay still, expecting our dragoons would be attacked.

Accordingly the colonel, strengthened with some troops of horse from Yorkshire, comes up to the bridge, and finding some dragoons posted, advances to charge them: the dragoons immediately get a horseback, and run for it, as they were ordered; but the old lad was not to be caught so; for he halts immediately at the bridge, and would not come over till he had sent three or four flying parties abroad, to discover the country. One of these parties fell into our hands, and received but coarse entertainment. Finding the plot would not take, we appeared, and drew up in view of the bridge, but he would not stir; so we continued our march into Cheshire, where we joined Prince Rupert and Prince Maurice, making together a fine body, being above eight thousand horse and dragoons.

This was the best and most successful expedition I was in during this war. It was well concerted, and executed with as much expedition and conduct as could be desired, and the success was answerable to it; and indeed, considering the season of the year, for we set out from Oxford the latter end of February, the ways bad, and the season wet, it was a terrible march of above two hundred miles, in continual action, and continually dodged and observed by a vigilant enemy, and at a time when the north was overrun by their armies, and the Scots wanting employment for their forces; yet, in less than twenty-three days, we marched two hundred miles, fought the enemy in open field four times, relieved one garrison besieged, and raised the siege of another, and joined our friends at last in safety.

The enemy was in great pain for Sir William Brereton and his forces, and expresses rid night and day to the Scots in the north, and to the parties in Lancashire, to come to his help. The prince, who used to be rather too forward to fight, than otherwise, could not be persuaded to make use of this opportunity, but loitered, if I may be allowed to say so, till the Scots, with a brigade of horse and two thousand foot, had