Battle of Aldbourne Chase

Last updated

Battle of Aldbourne Chase
Part of the First English Civil War
Date18 September 1643
Location Coordinates: 51°28′37″N1°40′37″W / 51.477°N 1.677°W / 51.477; -1.677
Result Inconclusive
Belligerents
Royal Standard of England (1603-1689).svg Royalists Flag of England.svg Parliamentarians
Commanders and leaders
Prince Rupert Earl of Essex
Strength
3,000 horse [1] 5,000 foot [2]
2,000 horse [2]
15-20 cannons
Wiltshire UK relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Aldbourne
Red pog.svg
Cirencester
Red pog.svg
Swindon
Red pog.svg
Newbury
Red pog.svg
Hungerford
Wiltshire County

The Battle of Aldbourne Chase was a relatively small battle of the First English Civil War that occurred on 18 September 1643. In the skirmish the Royalist cavalry led by Prince Rupert attacked the extended columns of the Parliamentarian army of the Earl of Essex at Aldbourne Chase, Wiltshire, as he was attempting to get his army to London. [3]

Contents

The battle in and of itself was inconclusive, but it allowed the Royalists to get to Newbury ahead of Essex and ultimately forced the Parliamentarian army into a major confrontation. [4]

Background

After relieving the siege of Gloucester, the Earl of Essex needed to return to London with his army intact. To do so, Essex first chose to travel north to Tewkesbury in an attempt to draw the Royalist forces near Gloucester off his intended route back to London. [5] After King Charles and the Royalist army followed, Essex turned south and travelled through Cheltenham to Cirencester where on 16 September he attacked and captured the Royalist garrison. At that time, Essex thought that he was far ahead of the Royalist army and slowed the pace of his army as they marched toward Swindon. [6]

When King Charles realized that Essex was attempting to travel directly to London, he sent Prince Rupert ahead with the cavalry in an attempt to intercept the Parliamentarian army before it could link up with reinforcements coming from London. [7]

Battle

Early on 18 September, Rupert's cavalry caught the Parliamentarians as they were crossing Aldbourne Chase, approximately two miles north-west of the village of Aldbourne. Rupert came upon long columns of Parliamentarian infantry, ambling along with large intervals between the individual divisions. Given such an opportunity, the Royalist cavalry immediately began a series of charges at the Parliamentarian foot. Although the Parliamentarian cavalry soon joined in the fray, the Royalists began to take a heavy toll on the Parliamentary infantry units. The Royalist charges continued as the Parliamentary foot struggled to unite into a single fighting force. The Royalists began to prevail despite a charge by Colonel Harvey of the Parliamentarians. [3] [8]

As they were able, the Parliamentarians began a retreat off the down, starting with their baggage and followed by their foot. [9] The battle ultimately continued through the village of Aldbourne where the Parliamentarians destroyed ammunition wagons to prevent their capture. [3] Finally, in combination with their infantry, the Parliamentarians were able to hold off the Royalists and even drive them away. [4] [10]

Aftermath

When Essex felt it was safe to continue the march, he chose not to continue on the London road, but rather to cross the River Kennet and use it as a barrier as he travelled through Hungerford to Newbury. As a result of the skirmish at Aldbourne Chase and the alternative route taken, the Parliamentarians were delayed and the King's army arrived and occupied Newbury on 19 September just before the Parliamentarians arrived. The delay at Aldbourne Chase thus ultimately blocked Essex from London and led to the First Battle of Newbury of 20 September. [3] [10]

Citations

  1. Money (1881), p. 17.
  2. 1 2 Money (1881), p. 14.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Wallace (2013), p. 32.
  4. 1 2 Manganiello (2004), p. 12.
  5. Day (2007), pp. 171-172.
  6. Day (2007), pp. 184-185.
  7. Money (1881), p. 16.
  8. Money (1881), pp. 17-21.
  9. Money (1881), p. 20.
  10. 1 2 The Two Battles of Newbury.

Related Research Articles

Battle of Lostwithiel

The Battle of Lostwithiel took place over a 13-day period spanning 21 August – 2 September near Lostwithiel and along the River Fowey valley in Cornwall during the First English Civil War in 1644. In the battle King Charles led the Royalists to a decisive victory over the Parliamentarians commanded by the Earl of Essex.

Battle of Edgehill 1642 battle during the English Civil War

The Battle of Edgehill was a pitched battle of the First English Civil War. It was fought near Edge Hill and Kineton in southern Warwickshire on Sunday, 23 October 1642.

Jacob Astley, 1st Baron Astley of Reading

Jacob Astley, 1st Baron Astley of Reading was a Royalist commander in the English Civil War.

First English Civil War First of the English Civil Wars (1642–1646)

The First English Civil War was fought in England and Wales, from August 1642 to June 1646. It forms one of the conflicts known collectively as the 1638 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, which also took place in Scotland and Ireland. These include the 1638 to 1640 Bishops' Wars, the Irish Confederate Wars, the Second English Civil War, the Third English Civil War, and the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland.

First Battle of Newbury A Battle that took place during the First English Civil War

The First Battle of Newbury was a battle of the First English Civil War that was fought on 20 September 1643 between a Royalist army, under the personal command of King Charles, and a Parliamentarian force led by the Earl of Essex. Following a year of Royalist successes in which they took Banbury, Oxford and Reading without conflict before storming Bristol, the Parliamentarians were left without an effective army in the west of England. When Charles laid siege to Gloucester, Parliament was forced to muster a force under Essex with which to beat Charles' forces off. After a long march, Essex surprised the Royalists and forced them away from Gloucester before beginning a retreat to London. Charles rallied his forces and pursued Essex, overtaking the Parliamentarian army at Newbury and forcing them to march past the Royalist force to continue their retreat.

Second Battle of Newbury A Battle that took place during the First English Civil War

The Second Battle of Newbury was a battle of the First English Civil War fought on 27 October 1644, in Speen, adjoining Newbury in Berkshire. The battle was fought close to the site of the First Battle of Newbury, which took place in late September the previous year.

Battle of Winceby A Battle that took place in 1643 during the First English Civil War

The Battle of Winceby took place on 11 October 1643 during the First English Civil War near the village of Winceby, Lincolnshire. In the battle, a Royalist relieving force under the command of Sir William Widdrington was defeated by the Parliamentarian cavalry of the Earl of Manchester.

Battle of Powick Bridge Battle of the First English Civil War

The Battle of Powick Bridge was a skirmish fought on 23 September 1642 just south of Worcester, England, during the First English Civil War. It was the first engagement between elements of the principal field armies of the Royalists and Parliamentarians. Sir John Byron was escorting a Royalist convoy of valuables from Oxford to King Charles's army in Shrewsbury and, worried about the proximity of the Parliamentarians, took refuge in Worcester on 16 September to await reinforcements. The Royalists despatched a force commanded by Prince Rupert. Meanwhile, the Parliamentarians sent a detachment, under Colonel John Brown, to try to capture the convoy. Each force consisted of around 1,000 mounted troops, a mix of cavalry and dragoons.

Battle of Chalgrove Field First English Civil War, 1643

The Battle of Chalgrove Field took place on 18 June 1643, during the First English Civil War, near Chalgrove, Oxfordshire. It is now best remembered for the death of John Hampden, who was wounded in the shoulder during the battle and died six days later.

The Eastern Association of counties was a Parliamentarian organisation during the English Civil War. It provided and administered an army which eventually became a mainstay of the Parliamentarian military effort towards the end of 1644.

Siege of Gloucester A Battle that took place in 1643 during the First English Civil War

The Siege of Gloucester took place between 10 August and 5 September 1643 during the First English Civil War. It was part of a Royalist campaign led by King Charles I to take control of the Severn Valley from the Parliamentarians. Following the costly storming of Bristol on 26 July, Charles invested Gloucester in the hope that a show of force would prompt it to surrender quickly and without bloodshed. When the city, under the governorship of Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Massey, refused, the Royalists attempted to bombard it into submission. Massey adopted an aggressive defence, and the Royalist positions outside the city were regularly disrupted by Parliamentarian raids. The Royalist artillery proved inadequate for the task of siege work and, faced with a shortage of ammunition, the besiegers attempted to breach the city walls by mining. With Royalist miners about to reach the city's east gate and the defenders critically low on gunpowder, a Parliamentarian army led by the Earl of Essex arrived and forced Charles to lift the siege.

Cornwall in the English Civil War

Cornwall played a significant role in the English Civil War, being a Royalist enclave in the generally Parliamentarian south-west.

Crockham Heath Human settlement in England

Crockham Heath is a small village in Berkshire, England. Crockham Heath is part of the civil parish of Enborne. The settlement lies near to the A34 road, and is located approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) south-west of Newbury where administration occurs.

Storming of Bristol A Battle that took place in 1643 during the First English Civil War

The Storming of Bristol took place on 26 July 1643, during the First English Civil War. The Royalist army under Prince Rupert captured the important port of Bristol from its weakened Parliamentarian garrison. The city remained under Royalist control until the second siege of Bristol in September of 1645.

The First English Civil War started in 1642. By the end of the year neither side had succeeded in gaining an advantage, although the King's advance on London was the closest Royalist forces came to threatening the city.

1643 was the second year of the First English Civil War. Politically, the latter months of the year were the turning-point of the war. The King made a truce with the Irish rebels on 15 September which united against him nearly every class in Protestant England. Only ten days after the "Irish Cessation," Parliament at Westminster swore to the Solemn League and Covenant, and the die was cast. {{Campaignbox First English Civil War

1644 was the third year of the First English Civil War. The King's position continued to decline and the Long Parliament sent the Propositions of Uxbridge, an attempt to end the war, to the king at Oxford

Storming of Farnham Castle

The Storming of Farnham Castle occurred on 1 December 1642, during the early stages of the First English Civil War, when a Parliamentarian force attacked the Royalist garrison at Farnham Castle in Surrey. Sir John Denham had taken possession of the castle for the Royalists in mid-November, but after the Royalists had been turned back from London at the Battle of Turnham Green, a Parliamentarian force under the command of Sir William Waller approached the castle. After Denham refused to surrender, Waller's forces successfully stormed the castle. They captured it in under three hours, mostly due to the unwillingness of the Royalist troops to fight. This allowed the Parliamentarians to get close enough to breach the gates, after which the garrison surrendered.

Siege of Arundel

The Siege of Arundel took place during the First English Civil War, from 19 December 1643 to 6 January 1644, when a Royalist garrison surrendered to a Parliamentarian army under Sir William Waller.

Battle of Bramber Bridge

The Battle of Bramber Bridge was a minor skirmish that took place on 13 December 1643, during the First English Civil War. A Royalist detachment from Arundel attempted to secure the bridge over the River Adur at Bramber in West Sussex, but found a Parliamentarian force already in possession.

References