Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T18:28:17.310Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The New Model Army and the problems of siege warfare, 1648–51

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2016

James Burke
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

The destruction of the Royalist field armies at Naseby and Langport in 1645 did not end the English Civil War. Althought the king had suffered irreversible military defeats, Parliament was unable to govern effectively while politically important towns and fortresses remained in enemy hands. To ensure political stability Parliament’s army was forced to besiege and reduce a large number of strongholds in England, Ireland and Scotland, a task that was not finally completed until the surrender of Galway in 1652. In particular the war in Ireland was to test the army’s siege-making capacity more severely than any previous campaign. To complete the political conquest of Britain and Ireland the army and its generals were compelled increasingly to practise an aspect of warfare that had been traditionally neglected by English soldiers. In contrast, siege warfare was an area in which their continental counterparts had excelled.

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, European wars produced few set-piece battles. Conflicts were more frequently resolved by the assault and defence of fortified cities and towns. Consequently the art of siege warfare evolved rapidly. England’s political and military insularity during this period detached the country from advances in siege technology that had transformed the conduct of European warfare. No major siege had been undertaken by an English army since Henry VIII had invested Boulogne in 1544, and as there had been no siege of English towns or fortresses since medieval times, there had been little innovation in defensive fortifications. What improvements did occur were sporadic and unco-ordinated. In the sixteenth century a great fortress was built at Berwick-on-Tweed to counter Scottish infiltration and a number of coastal towns in the south-east were refortified against the threat of Spanish invasion. However, by the outbreak of civil war in 1642, even these were obsolete by contemporary continental standards.

Type
Articles
Information
Irish Historical Studies , Volume 27 , Issue 105 , May 1990 , pp. 1 - 29
Copyright
Copyright © Irish Historical Studies Publications Ltd 1990

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 Howard, Michael, War in European history (Oxford, 1976), p. 34 Google Scholar. In all the European wars from the battle of Mühlberg in 1547 to the battle of Breitenfeld in 1631, there were only two major field battles, Nieuport in 1600 and the White Mountain in 1621.

2 Duffy, Christopher, Siege warfare (London, 1979), p. 141 Google Scholar.

3 Ibid., p. 141.

4 Howard, War, p. 35.

5 Duffy, Siege warfare, p. 11. The first gunpowder mine was used at the siege of Belgrade in 1439 by John Vrano. The original medieval mine operated without explosives. The supporting props were burnt in order to induce collapse of a section of wall.

6 Howard, War, p. 36.

7 Parker, Geoffrey, The Thirty Years War (London, 1984), pp 192–203 Google Scholar. The Scottish were particularly prominent in the Swedish service.

8 Sir Bernard de Gomme (1620-85) was a Walloon who accompanied Prince Rupert to England, and made a major contribution both to the siege of Bristol and to the subsequent refortification of the town. He received the titles of engineer-general and quartermaster-general and was to resume his engineering activities under the restoration. (D.N.B.)

9 Beckmann was a Swedish engineer who supervised the construction of impressive defences at Oxford. These defences were never fully tested.

10 John Dalbier was a Dutch engineer who was quartermaster-general in the army of the earl of Essex. He supervised the siege of Basing House where he had a disagreement with Cromwell whom he accused of unjustly claiming the entire credit for the victory (Perfect diurnal, 13–20 Oct. 1645, Thomason tract E. 266–7). Out of favour, Dalbier fought and died for the Royalists in the Second Civil War (Duffy, Siege warfare, p. 147).

11 Peter Marteau Van Dalem was also a Dutchman; he was appointed engineer-general of the New Model Army (Duffy, Siege warfare, p. 147).

12 A continuation of certain special and remarkable passages, 7–14 Feb. 1643 (London, Feb. 1643), Thomason tract E. 89.17. He was shot by a man who had been deaf and dumb from birth, a circumstance taken as a great omen by the Royalists.

13 News from the siege before York (London, 1644), Thomason tract E. 52–9.

14 D.N.B. Fiennes was accused of cowardice by William Prynne and Clement Walker and was tried at St Albans in Dec. 1643. His conviction on a charge of ‘improper surrender’ implicitly exonerated him of cowardice and treachery.

15 A continuation of special passages, Thomason tract E. 101.17. Fielding, second-in-command to Sir Arthur Aston, took over when Aston was disabled. He had agreed terms for surrender when the king arrived with a relieving army and he angered the king by refusing to renounce the terms.

16 The writings and speeches of Oliver Cromwell, ed. Abbott, W.C. (4 vols, Cambridge, Mass., 1937-47) (hereafter cited as Cromwell, Writings), i, 322 Google Scholar. In addition to an untenable military situation, Windebanke’s position was encumbered by the presence of a large party of ladies from the court at Oxford who were visiting the house.

17 It could be argued that the term New Model Army became redundant during 1647, when Fairfax’s command was extended to all of Parliament’s armies and the original New Model lost its separate identity. However, I propose to retain the term for the period to 1652 because the innovations which made the New Model unique were retained in the new organisation as were its generals and senior officers.

18 An exact narrative of every day’s proceedings since the insurrection in Essex (London, 20 June, 1648), Thomason tract E. 448.18. This is the best account of the first phase of the siege although it lacks detail on how the army was repulsed from the town.

19 D.N.B. Lucas was not in sole command. He was the social junior in a triumvirate that also included the earl of Norwich and Lord Capel.

20 Mercuricus Elencticus (20 June 1648), Thomason tract E. 449.7. This account was written from the Royalist side.

21 An exact narrative. A colonel and two captains were among the dead.

22 Ibid.

23 Duffy, Siege warfare, pp 182–5.

24 Ibid., p. 147. The full engineer establishment of the New Model was one engineer general, one engineer, one engineer extraordinary, one chief gunner, two ordinary engineers, one captain of pioneers, one master gunner of the field and a company of common pioneers.

25 Firth, G.H., Cromwell’s army (London, 1902), p. 176 Google Scholar.

26 Whitelocke, Bulstrode, Memorials of the English affairs (London, 1853), iii, 248 Google Scholar.

27 Clarke papers: selections from the papers of William Clarke, ed. Firth, C.H. (4 vols, Camden Society, new ser., London, 1891-1901), i, 28, 29Google Scholar. A letter from Arthur Capel, one of the Royalist leaders in Colchester, to Sir Marmaduke Langdale was intercepted by the Parliamentary forces. He writes with some admiration of the ‘line and works’ being constructed by the besiegers.

28 A true and exact relation of the taking of Colchester (London, 31 Aug. 1648), Thomason tract E. 461.24. This account was in a letter sent by an officer of the army. He wrote that ‘the like line, regular works fortifications and approaches have not been made in any part of the kingdom since the war began’.

29 Childs, John, Armies and warfare in Europe, 1648–1789 (New York, 1982), p. 209 Google Scholar. This technique had a secondary purpose in inhibiting desertion from the besieging army.

30 Duffy, Siege warfare, p. 19. The technique was first employed in 1527 by the commander of the Imperial army in Italy, Prospero Colonna.

31 A letter from Colchester (London, 29 June 1648), Thomason tract, E. 450.10.

32 Hyde, Edward, earl of Clarendon, The history of the rebellion, ed. Macray, W.D. (London, 1888), bk xi, para. 62Google Scholar.

33 Rushworth, John (ed.), Historical collections, 1618–48 (8 vols, London, 1701), pt 4, ii, 1216, 1221Google Scholar.

34 ‘R.L.’, A letter from Colchester (London, 29 June 1648)Google Scholar, Thomason tract E. 450.10. Three windmills were burnt down by the Parliamentary forces and two watermills were about to be cut off.

35 A letter from the leaguer at Colchester (London, 8 July 1648), Thomason tract E. 451.28. This letter includes much intelligence from inside the town, e.g. that butter and cheese were 5s. a pound and that morale was very low.

36 Moderate intelligencer, 31 Aug.-7 Sept. (London, 8 Sept. 1648), Thomason tract E. 462.18.

37 Rushworth, Historical collections, pt 4, ii, 1236.

38 Foot was the accepted term for infantry at the time.

39 A true and perfect relation of those noblemen and gentlemen in Colchester (6 Sept. 1648), Thomason tract E. 462.16. This account was written by a Royalist. The foot were rightly fearful that they would be sacrificed merely to ensure the escape of the horse.

40 Letter from Colchester (London, 29 Aug. 1648), Thomason tract E. 461.29.

41 Letter from Colchester, Thomason tract E. 450–10.

42 Letters forwarded to the Honourable William Lenthall, by John Rushworth (London, 28 Aug. 1648), Thomason tract E. 461.6.

43 Letter from Fairfax (London, 2 Sept. 1648), Thomason tract E. 461–35.

44 Clarendon, Rebellion, bk xi, para. 107. Capel and some other prisoners sent a letter saying all were equally guilty and should undergo the same sentence.

45 Ibid., para. 108. Clarendon has a story that when Lisle asked the firing squad to come nearer, one of them declared, ‘I’ll warrant you, Sir, we’ll hit you’, to which Lisle replied, ‘Friends, I’ve been nearer to you and you have missed’.

46 His real name was Bernard Guasconi, and, according to Clarendon, Rebellion, bk ix, para. 106, he spoke only broken English. He had asked for pen and paper so that he could write to his ruler, the grand duke, and tell him how he had died. In a long discourse at the execution site, reported in Clarke papers, i, 31–9, Guasconi says very little.

47 Clarendon, Rebellion, bk xi, para. 108.

48 An ordinance of 24 Oct. 1644 had forbidden the giving of quarter to any Irishman taken in arms (Acts and ordinances of the Interregnum, i, 554).

49 Clarendon, Rebellion, bk xi, para. 109.

50 Clarke papers, ii, 31–9.

51 He had supported the private soldiers in seeking terms without the permission of the commanding officer.

52 Cromwell, Writings, ii, 232. The commander at Gowran was a Col. Hommond who had been prominent in the Kentish uprising of 1648. He had managed the defence of Lord Capel at his trial after the surrender of Colchester.

53 The moderate intelligencer, 6–13 Sept. 1649, Thomason tract E. 5733–18. The reporter says that Aston was famous for his defence of towns and was once complimented by the king of Sweden for defending one against him.

54 D.N.B.

55 Wood, Anthony à, The life and times of Anthony à Wood, abridged from Clarke, Andrew edition by Powys, Llewelyn (London, 1932), p. 25 Google Scholar.

56 Ibid., p. 29.

57 Ibid., p. 24. Aston’s misadventure was a source of great merriment to the locals. He was succeeded as governor by Col. Legge. For some time afterwards the country people when coming to Oxford would inquire of the sentinel who was the governor of Oxford, ‘and on receiving the answer “one Legge” would exclaim derisively “a pox upon him, is he governor still”’.

58 In an anonymous pamphlet entitled Two great fights in Ireland (London, 18 Sept. 1649), Thomason tract E. 574.3, the writer makes fun of Aston’s disability, saying that ‘the Great Engineer’ had ‘studied a new stratagem of war for taking off either leg or arm. The engine runs on three wheels and is to be planted both at gates and breaches upon any attempt or storm.’

59 Aston to Ormonde, 25 Aug.-9 Sept. 1649, in Gilbert, J.T., A contemporary history of affairs in Ireland from 1641 to 1652 (3 vols, Dublin, 1879-80), ii, 452 Google Scholar.

60 The moderate intelligencer, 6–13 Sept. 1649.

61 The moderate intelligencer gives a garrison of 2,200, while Cromwell (Cromwell, Writings, ii, 128) estimates it at 2,900. The three foot regiments of Colonels Byrne, Warren and Wall contained 2,100 men, while Ormonde’s regiment under Sir Edward Verney was 400 strong. The balance was composed of 200 under the lord of Westmeath and 200 under Sir James Dillon.

62 Cal. S.P. dom., 1649–50, p. 237. The army’s normal artillery complement was supplemented by a number of pieces from naval stores. Firth estimates the siege train to have consisted of four whole cannons (40 pounders), two demicannons (20 pounders) and three culverins (16 pounders) in addition to twelve pieces of field artillery (Firth, Cromwell’s army, p. 169). This information is corroborated by the anonymous author of History of the war of Ireland, ed. Hogan, Edmund (Dublin, 1873)Google Scholar, who says that Cromwell had six pieces of cannon (p. 86).

63 Two great fights. The writer estimates Ormonde’s field army at 7,500.

64 Ibid.

65 Simms, J.G., ‘Cromwell at Drogheda’ in Ir. Sword, xi (1974), p. 213 Google Scholar.

66 Cromwell, Writings, ii, 125.

67 Ibid., ii, 126.

68 A perfect diurnal (London, 8 Oct. 1649), Thomason tract, E. 533.17. This newspaper printed a letter on the affair from ‘an eminent person in the army’.

69 Cromwell in a letter to Lenthall mentions ‘six retrenchments’ but from his description he seems to mean two lines of three, one on the eastern side of the town and one inside the vital southern wall (Cromwell, Writings, ii, 125). In an earlier letter Cromwell has spoken of three entrenchments only and Whitelocke accepts this (Whitelocke, Memorials, iii, 111).

70 A perfect diurnal.

71 Whitelocke, Memorials, iii, 114.

72 A perfect diurnal. The writer says that Cromwell left the battery and moved to the breach. Cromwell himself does not mention his involvement but modestly notes that ‘God was pleased to animate’ the troops.

73 Gilbert, Affairs in Ire., ii, 49. This is from a document called the ‘Aphorismical discovery’, an anonymous account of the war in Ireland by somebody on the Irish side.

74 A perfect diurnal.

75 A letter from Sir Lewis Dyve (The Hague, July 1650), Thomason tract E. 616.7, p. 22. Sir Lewis Dyve was a Royalist agent in Ireland from Sept. 1648 until June 1650.

76 Gilbert, Affairs in Ire., ii, 49.

77 Cromwell, Writings, ii, 126.

78 Childs, Armies (p. 139), states that in Europe a storm generally included the right to pillage, burn and rape, but not to murder merely for the sake of murder. Once a breach was made, the garrison was expected to surrender on terms. If it did not, and if the attackers lost large numbers in the storm, the town and its defenders were sometimes put to the sword. This occurred at Würzburg in 1631 when the Swedes stormed the town. (Duffy, Siege warfare, p. 179).

79 Although killings did occur, the accounts with which Cromwell was familiar were exaggerated.

80 Cromwell, Writings, ii, 127.

81 The memoirs of Edmund Ludlow, 1625–60 (London, 1751), i, 260. By Englishmen Ludlow probably means English-speaking, which would have included Old English as well as New English.

82 The last great and bloody fight in Ireland (London, 4 Sept. 1649), Thomason tract, E. 572.20. One of ten dead officers was Major Butler, a nephew of Ormonde’s.

83 A perfect diurnal.

84 Letter from Sir Lewis Dyve, p. 24.

85 Cromwell, Writings, ii, 126.

86 A perfect diurnal.

87 Ormonde to Byron, 29 Sept. 1649 (Gilbert, Affairs in Ire., ii, 271–2).

88 Verney, Frances, Memoirs of the Verney family during the Civil War (London, 1892), ii, 344, 345Google Scholar. The information about Drogheda was contained in a letter from a Mr Buck to the Verney family in England. The writer could have been the James Buck who wrote to the marchioness of Ormonde in Oct. 1651. (Calendar of the MSS of the marquess of Ormonde (new ser., 8 vols, H.M.C. rep. 36, London, 1902–20), i, p. 224–5).

89 Cromwell to John Bradshaw, Sept. 1649 (Cromwell, Writings, ii, 124). The author of the ‘Aphorismical discovery’ also states that there was only one survivor. A Capt. Tadhg O’Connor is said to have escaped the massacre by inching his way stark naked through the debris for hours disguised as a dead body.

90 Calendar of the Clarendon state papers (3 vols, Oxford, 1872–6), ii, 22. Inchiquin names two of the surviving officers as Garrett Dungan and Lt Col. Cavanagh. It is quite probable that a couple of hundred of the garrison would have survived. Cromwell’s army had been concentrated on the southern side of the town and many of the soldiers stationed on the northern half would have had opportunity to escape over the northern walls.

91 This is consistent with the account given in Perfect diurnal by ‘an eminent person’ on the other side.

92 Ludlow, Memoirs, i, 261.

93 Two letters of a bloody fight in Ireland (London, 22 Sept., 1649), Thomason tract E. 574.18.

94 Cromwell, Writings, ii, 126–8.

95 A letter from Ireland, read in the House of Commons, from Mr Hugh Peter, minister of God’s Lord (London, Sept. 1649), Thomason tract E. 574.28. Although Peter was a notorious fanatic, his casualty figures are quite plausible and appear to have had some official standing since they were read out in Parliament. Although 64 Parliamentary fatalities is quite low it is of the right order of magnitude for a brief, if fierce, engagement on a narrow front, and it can be assumed that the great majority of ‘enemy’ deaths occurred after the battle was over.

96 According to Cromwell’s account all the troops in one of the towers and 90% of those in the other were spared. Assuming a company strength garrison in each tower this would leave about 200 survivors in captivity. Those who escaped over the walls, and of whom no more than a percentage would have made it to Inchiquin’s camp, is unlikely to have been fewer than 200.

97 CromwelI in a later letter to Lenthall admits that ‘many inhabitants died’ (Cromwell, Writings, ii, 131).

98 Thomas à Wood, Life, p. 41. Thomas à Wood returned home in 1650 and told his family these stories. He had been a Royalist soldier in England and he joined the Parliamentary forces in Ireland with the assistance of Col. Ingoldsby who was a friend. He died in Drogheda in 1651.

99 Cromwell, Writings, ii, 128. One of these friars was Peter Taaffe, a brother of Lord Taaffe, who was captured the day after the storm and ‘made an end of’, while the other was captured in one of the towers disguised as a lieutenant. On hearing that officers had no quarter he revealed his true identity and was killed twice over.

100 It is possible that Peter’s figure included only men, both military and civilian, and female casualties may not have been counted.

101 Gilbert, Affairs in Ire., ii, 275.

102 Ludlow, Memoirs, i, 261.

103 Cromwell, Writings, ii, 128.

104 Ibid., pp 126, 131.

105 The taking of Wexford (London, 28 Oct. 1649), Thomason tract E. 575.35. This account was written by ‘R.L.’, an officer in the army who had also reported from Colchester.

106 Cromwell, Writings, ii, 142, Cromwell’s report to Lenthall.

107 Ludlow, Memoirs, i, 262.

108 Cromwell, Writings, ii, 142.

109 Deane to Popham, 22 Oct. 1649 (Report on the MSS of F. W. Leyborne-Popham (H.M.C. rep. 51, London, 1899), p. 47).

110 Ludlow, Memoirs, i, 262.

111 Cromwell, Writings, ii, 142. R. L.’s letter (above, n. 105) puts the total of enemy dead at not fewer than 1,700 and possibly as many as 3,000.

112 Cromwell, Writings, ii, 142.

113 Ibid., ii, 142. Cromwell wrote that ‘the soldiers got a very good booty in this place’.

114 Ludlow, Memoirs, i, 262.

115 Cromwell, Writings, ii, 153, 176.

116 Cromwell, Writings, ii, 229, 233. The articles of agreement guaranteed the lives and property of the citizens and allowed all soldiers to march away with bags and baggage and a limited amount of arms.

117 Taking Peter’s figure of 64 for Drogheda, and Cromwell’s 20 for Wexford, gives a total of 84, Cromwell mentions casualties of 50 and 30 in the two major incidents and ‘not above three or four’ in two other clashes. This does not include the toll taken by snipers which is mentioned in Ludlow, Memoirs, i, 264. It is reasonable to assume therefore that over the entire period, the total of dead would have clearly exceeded 84.

118 Whitelocke, Memorials, iii, 174. The durable Axtell was wounded in the back, an unusual injury to an officer leading a storm.

119 Cromwell, Writings, ii, 233. The second storm was led by Axtell’s regimental commander Hewson who was also wounded.

120 Ibid.

121 D.N.B. Hugh Dubh was born in the Spanish Netherlands and was the son of a nephew of Hugh O’Neill, earl of Tyrone; he had spent the greater part of his life as a professional soldier in the Spanish service.

122 Gilbert, , Affairs in Ire., ii, 75 Google Scholar (’Aphorismical discovery’). The defending troops were almost exclusively Irish Catholics since the Protestant Royalists had made an accommodation with Cromwell earlier in the year.

123 Ibid., pp 77–8. Cromwell would have used ‘silver spears as better weapon[s]’ and charged ‘his guns not with brazen bullets but with treasure’.

124 Ibid., p. 78. The writer goes on to claim that O’Neill turned the ruse into a trap by allowing in 500 troops and then slaughtering them. This seems to be a distorted account of the final assault on the town in which Cromwell also suffered severe losses because of a trap set by O’Neill.

125 Hogan, History of the war of Ire., p. 109.

126 There is some confusion over the date of this battle. A letter in Several proceedings, 23/30 May 1650, Thomason tract E. 777.6, gives 10 May for the end of the siege but the articles of surrender which all sources agree were signed on the day after the siege are dated 18 May ( Gilbert, , Affairs in Ire., ii, 411 Google Scholar).

127 Hogan, History of the war of Ire., p. 108. The chainshot was fired low, hitting the troops in the lower half of the body and about the knees, disabling the victims and making the task of slaughter easier.

128 Ibid., p. 109.

129 Gilbert, , Affairs in Ire., ii, 78 Google Scholar. At Drogheda Cromwell had swamped the dispirited survivors with fresh troops. At Clonmel he seems to have committed most of his infantry to the first assault.

130 Whitelocke, , Memorials, ii, 196 Google Scholar.

131 Hogan, History of the war of Ire., p. 110.

132 Gilbert, , Affairs in Ire., ii, 78 Google Scholar.

133 Ibid., pp 411–12.

134 Hogan, History of the war in Ire., p. 111.

135 Several proceedings, 23–30 May 1650, Thomason tract E. 777–6. Also in Whitelocke, , Memorials, iii, 196 Google Scholar.

136 Even if the lower figure for casualties were halved it would still exceed any of the great field battles and sieges, e.g.:

Naseby (1645): 400 (Whitelocke)

Longport (1645): 60 (Cromwell)

Drogheda (1649): 64 (Hugh Peter)

Kilkenny (1650): 100 (Cromwell)

Dunbar (1650): fewer than 40 (Cromwell)

Worcester (1651): 100 (Cromwell)

137 Several proceedings.

138 Letter from Sir Lewis Dyve, p. 49; Whitelocke, , Memorials, iii, 196 Google Scholar.

139 Nickolls, John, Original letters and papers of state addressed to Oliver Cromwell concerning the affairs of Great Britain from the year 1649 to 1658, found among the political collection of Mr John Milton (London, 1743), p. 72 Google Scholar, 10 Jan. 1651.

140 Whitelocke, , Memorials, iii, 197 Google Scholar. Ireton was appointed as lord deputy of Ireland and operated as general of the army. He was sometimes called lord deputy-general of Ireland.

141 Calendar of the MSS of the marquess of Ormonde (new ser., 8 vols, H.M.C. rep. 36, London, 1902–20), i, 160–61. A letter from two Limerick citizens to Ormonde dated 27 Aug. 1650 complained that outlying garrisons like Castletroy, Killaloe and Doonass were sorely pressed.

142 Whitelocke, , Memorials, iii, 369 Google Scholar.

143 Ibid.

144 Cal. S.P. Ire., 1647–60, p. 373.

145 Cal. S.P. dom., 1650, p. 252.

146 Whitelocke, , Memorials, iii, 274 Google Scholar.

147 Cal. S.P. dom., 1650, pp 402, 433, 471, 573, 576, 579, 607.

148 Ibid., p. 228.

149 Ludlow, , Memoirs, i, 298–302 Google Scholar.

150 Gilbert, , Affairs in Ire., iii, 238 Google Scholar (’Aphorismical discovery’).

151 Fairfax had been particularly fond of bombardment. He had a notable success at Bridgewater in 1645, when the garrison was confined to a small part of the town. At Colchester, however, a heavy and prolonged bombardment had had little effect.

152 Ormonde MSS, i, 187.

153 Sad news from Ireland (London, 15 July 1651), Thomason tract E. 638.13. This is a letter from Ireton to Lenthall which described with good military detail the attacks on the two forts.

154 Ludlow, , Memoirs, i, 307-8Google Scholar.

155 Sad news.

156 Ludlow, , Memoirs, i, 306 Google Scholar; Sad news.

157 Sad news. Most of Ireton’s letter is devoted to this incident.

158 Cots were local river boats normally used for fishing. The garrison at the weir had attempted to flee in cots.

159 Sad news. Although Whitelocke says that none was spared, Ireton is definite that one soldier was given quarter. It is possible that this survivor was a Welsh soldier, Evans, who was subsequently put to death as a spy by the English.

160 Ibid. In the text of Ireton’s letter, it is stated that not more than six or seven survived, although the title page gives eight. Ludlow says that only two or three survived (Memoirs, i, 307).

161 It is not clear if this boat was abandoned and the fate of its crew is unknown.

162 Ormonde MSS, i, 187; Gilbert, , Affairs in Ire., iii, 18 Google Scholar.

163 Sad news.

164 A letter from the lord deputy-general of Ireland unto the Hon. William Lenthall Esquire concerning the rendition of Limerick (London, 28 Nov. 1651), Thomason tract E. 647.9.

165 Ludlow, , Memoirs, i, 309 Google Scholar. The bridge-building materials had been in position before the June attacks. A similar bridge had been built over the Barrow at Ross in 1649 with ‘barrells, casks, planks and cables’ ( Gilbert, , Affairs in Ire., ii, 55 Google Scholar (’Aphorismical discovery’).

166 Ormonde MSS, i, 187.

167 Ludlow, , Memoirs, i, 311 Google Scholar.

168 Whitelocke, , Memorials, iii, 317, 335Google Scholar.

169 Ludlow, , Memoirs, i, 318, 311Google Scholar.

170 Whitelocke, , Memorials, iii, 316 Google Scholar. Whitelocke, in London, was aware of divisions within the garrison as early as 4 July 1650.

171 Ludlow, , Memoirs, i, 318 Google Scholar.

172 Gilbert, , Affairs in Ire., iii, 440 Google Scholar.

173 A letter from the lord deputy-general, pp 13, 17.

174 Whitelocke, , Memorials, iii, 354 Google Scholar.

175 Ludlow, , Memoirs, i, 318 Google Scholar.

176 Ibid., p. 319.

177 A letter from the lord deputy-general, pp 6, 7. Ireton provides a very detailed account of the erection of the batteries.

178 Gilbert, , Affairs in Ire., iii, 19 Google Scholar. This information is also in an account by a Dr William Layles which is endorsed by Lord Clanricarde (ibid.). Layles says that Fennell seized the gates on 23 Oct., five days before the surrender.

179 Ibid., iii, 20 (’Aphorismical discovery’).

180 A letter from the lord deputy-general, p. 7. Ireton, however, suspected that a further 4,000 men within the city walls, who were natives of the city, would have been available to the garrison.

181 Ludlow, , Memoirs, i, 320 Google Scholar.

182 A letter from the lord deputy-general, p. 7.

183 Ludlow, , Memoirs, i, 318 Google Scholar.

184 A letter from the lord deputy-general, p. 8.

185 Ludlow, , Memoirs, i, 321, 322Google Scholar.

186 Ibid., p. 322. The first vote of the council condemned O’Neill to death and the second vote rejected his plea for mercy.

187 O’Neill was subsequently sent to London as a prisoner. Ironically the ship that brought him there also carried the body of Ireton.

188 Gilbert, , Affairs in Ire., iii, 263, 20Google Scholar.

189 A letter from the lord deputy-general, p. 17; Ludlow, , Memoirs, i, 322 Google Scholar. These included O’Neill’s second-in-command, Maj.-Gen. Purcell, the bishop of Emly, the mayor of Limerick, Geoffrey Barron, Sir Geoffrey Galway, Dr Higgins, Capt. Lawrence Walsh (a priest), Francis Woolf (a friar) and Maj. Fennell.

190 Ludlow, , Memoirs, i, 324 Google Scholar, suggests that Ireton died of complications resulting from a bad cold.

191 Moderate intelligencer (London, 31 Aug.-7 Sept. 1648), Thomason tract E. 462.18.

192 Letter from Fairfax to the earl of Manchester (London, 2 Sept. 1649), Thomason tract E. 461.35.

193 Cal. Clarendon S.P., ii, 22. Inchiquin wrote that ‘no quarter was given there with Cromwell’s leave but many were privately saved’.

194 Ludlow, , Memoirs, i, 323 Google Scholar.

195 Ibid., pp 293–4.

196 Whitelocke, , Memorials, iii, 316 Google Scholar.

197 Sad news.

198 Wedgwood, C.V., The Thirty Years War (London, 1938), p. 87 Google Scholar.

199 These prisoners were taken after the battle outside the walls on 13 June 1648. See above, p. 5.

200 The perfect weekly account, 14–21 June 1648 (London, 22 June 1648), Thomason tract E. 449.12.

201 Ibid.

202 The exception between 1642 and 1650 was 1647, when the army was more concerned with politics than with soldiering.

203 Whitelocke, , Memorials, iii, 152 Google Scholar. One was led from Whitehall to Tyburn with a halter around his neck. At Tyburn his right ear was nailed to the pillory. The other two received six lashes apiece.

204 Ibid., p. 258. The word ‘gantelope’ survives in its corrupted form of ‘gauntlet’. The ‘gantelope’ was a military punishment that originated in the Swedish service. The victim was made run between two lines of soliders who pummelled him with a variety of non-lethal weapons.

205 Whitelocke, , Memorials, iii, 312 Google Scholar. On 24 June 1651, Whitelocke reported that 9,000 recruits had gone to Ireland. Of these, 4,700 were pressed soldiers and 4,300 were volunteers.

206 Ibid., p. 182.

207 Sad news.

208 Ludlow, , Memoirs, i, 318 Google Scholar.