The Battle of Marston Moor, which took place on July 2, 1644, was the largest battle of the English Civil War, and one of the most decisive. It resulted in a Parliamentarian victory, and meant that the north of England effectively came under Parliamentary control.

Campaign

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In early 1644, the English Civil War widened when a Scottish Covenanter army under the Earl of Leven invaded northern England, on the side of Parliament. The Royalist army under the Marquess of Newcastle disputed the border country, but had to hastily retreat to York when that city was threatened by a Parliamentarian army under Lord Fairfax and his son, Sir Thomas Fairfax.

Leven and Fairfax began a Siege of York on April 22. Newcastle's cavalry under George, Lord Goring broke out of the city, and made their way to Lancashire. On June 3, the besiegers were joined by another Parliamentarian army, that of the "Eastern Association" under the Earl of Manchester, and siege operations began in earnest. By common consent, the veteran Leven was accepted as Commander in Chief of the three combined Allied armies.

Prince Rupert of the Rhine, nephew of King Charles I, had moved north from Shrewsbury with the aim of relieving York as early as May 16. He had been busily gathering recruits and reinforcements (including Goring) and restoring Royalist fortunes in Lancashire. On June 14, King Charles wrote to him, peremptorily ordering him to relieve York and then return south to rejoin the King. These orders were hastily written, as the King himself was hard-pressed by Parliamentarian armies, and contained some ambiguous sentences.

"Yorke march"

Rupert marched across the Pennines with an army of 6000 horse and 8000 foot. On June 30, he reached Knaresborough, a day's march north-west of York. The Allies had been hoping that reinforcements from the Midlands under Sir John Meldrum and the Earl of Denbigh could ward off this threat, but they learned that these forces could not intervene in time. Therefore they abandoned the siege and concentrated at Marston Moor, on the flank of Rupert's expected direct march to York (along Ermine Street, the modern A59). However, Rupert made a flank march via Boroughbridge and Thornton Bridge, which put the River Ouse between himself and the Allied Armies. Late on July 1 his forces defeated Manchester's dragoons, left to guard a bridge of boats across the Ouse at the village of Poppleton a few miles north of York. Goring meanwhile gained touch with the garrison of York, entering the city through Bootham Bar.

The armies deploy

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With York successfully relieved, it was almost certain that the Scots, Manchester and Fairfax would retreat and split up, but Rupert insisted that his orders from the King (which he did not show to Newcastle) were to defeat them in the field. On July 2, the Allied armies were already marching south from Marston Moor when their rearguard reported that the Royalists were crossing the captured bridge of boats and advancing onto the moor. The Allied troops were hastily recalled, but Rupert did not attack immediately. He had ordered Newcastle to join him with part of the garrison of York, but these troops had mutinied over lack of pay and supplies, and consequently they arrived late.

When both armies were assembled in the late afternoon, they were deployed as follows:

Scots and Parliamentarians

The Parliamentarians occupied Marston Hill, a low but nevertheless prominent feature in the flat Vale of York, between the villages of Long Marston and Tockwith. They had the advantage of height, but cornfields stretching between the two villages hampered their deployment.

Their left wing was under the command of Oliver Cromwell, and consisted of 3000 horse from the Eastern Association, including Cromwell's own regiment of "Ironsides", and 600 detached musketeers. 1000 lighter Scots horse under Sir David Leslie were deployed to Cromwell's rear, and 500 Scots dragoons (mounted infantry) on the extreme left.

The centre, under several Generals with no overall commander, consisted of over 14000 foot, with 30 to 40 pieces of artillery. The various regiments had been hastily deployed as they returned to the field and were considerably mixed up, but most of Manchester's foot under Sergeant Major General Lawrence Crawford were on the left of the front line, and Lord Fairfax's in the centre. Scots brigades made up the right of the front line (under Lieutenant General William Baillie, and almost all the second and third lines (under Sergeant Major General James Lumsden).

The right wing was commanded by Sir Thomas Fairfax, with 2000 horse from Yorkshire and Lancashire, and 600 musketeers, with 1000 Scots horse to his rear.

The Royalist armies

The Royalists occupied the low-lying moor, behind a drainage ditch. When the contingent from York belatedly arrived, Rupert's dispositions were criticised by Lord Eythin, one of Newcastle's senior officers, as being drawn up too close to the enemy. However, Eythin also pontificated that it was too late in the day to attack or redeploy, so the Royalist army did not move back.

Their left wing consisted of 2100 cavalry, mainly from the "Northern Horse", and 500 musketeers, under Goring.

Their centre was nominally commanded by Eythin, although Sergeant-Major General Henry Tillier led most of the troops. A forlorn hope of musketeers lined the ditch. The infantry units of Rupert's army, 7000 strong, formed the first line, with the 3000-man infantry contingent from Newcastle's army, and a brigade of "Northern Horse" numbering 600 under Sir William Blakiston, behind them. There were also 14 field guns.

The right wing was commanded by Lord Byron, with 2600 horse and 500 musketeers.

Rupert commanded a reserve of 600 cavalry, including his elite Lifeguard of Horse, in person.

The battle

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Opening phase

Although there had been brief exchanges of artillery fire and some skirmishes between outposts during the afternoon, Rupert thought that he still had the initiative and that the battle would not take place until the next day. However, at about 7:30 pm, Leven suddenly attacked under cover of a rainstorm, taking the Royalists by surprise.

On the Allied left, Cromwell's deliberate advance, supported by Lawrence Crawford, shattered Byron's wing. Byron had ordered a counter-charge, thus disrupting his own troops and preventing his musketeers from firing, which Rupert was later to blame for the defeat. In the centre, most of the Allied front line of infantry managed to force their way across the ditch. On the right, Sir Thomas Fairfax's wing fared less well. His cavalry were disordered by the ditch and by royalist musket fire and when Goring counter-attacked, Fairfax's men were driven from the field.

Most of Goring's troops scattered in pursuit or fell out to loot the Allied baggage train, but some of them under Sir Charles Lucas wheeled to attack the right flank of the Allied infantry. At the same time, some of Newcastle's foot and Blakiston's brigade of horse counter-attacked them in front. Under these assaults in the confusion and the gathering darkness, over half the Scots and Parliamentarian infantry fled. Leven and Lord Fairfax also left the field, believing all was lost. Manchester remained, but commanded no more than his own regiment of foot near the Allied rear. However, one Scottish brigade under the Earl of Crawford-Lindsay and Viscount Maitland stood firm against Lucas, and behind them the Scottish Sergeant Major General Sir James Lumsden managed to reform part of the Allied centre.

Meanwhile, Rupert rallied some of Byron's men (including Rupert's own Regiment of Horse) and led them and his reserve against Cromwell. A Parliamentarian officer wrote, "Cromwell's own division had a hard pull of it; for they were charged by Rupert's bravest men both in front and flank; they stood at the sword's point a pretty while, hacking one another; but at last (it so pleased God) he brake through them, scattering them before him like a little dust.". Sir David Leslie's Scots eventually swung the balance for Cromwell. Rupert's cavaliers were routed and he himself narrowly avoided capture.

Cromwell's victory

By now it was fully dark. The battlefield was a scene of wild confusion, and thousands of fugitives from both sides were scattered over the countryside for miles around. A messenger from Ireland riding in search of Prince Rupert wrote, "In this horrible distraction did I coast the country; here meeting with a shoal of Scots crying out, 'Weys us, we are all undone'; and so full of lamentation and mourning, as if their day of doom had overtaken them, and from which they knew not whither to fly; and anon I met with a ragged troop reduced to four and a Cornet; by and by with a little foot officer without hat, band, sword, or indeed anything but feet and so much tongue as would serve to enquire the way to the next garrisons, which (to say the truth) were well filled with the stragglers on both sides within a few hours, though they lay distant from the place of the fight 20 or 30 miles".

All five armies had lost their commanders-in-chief. Newcastle, who in any case rarely led in the field, had charged with a body of "gentleman volunteers" and was out of touch. An indecisive drawn battle might have resulted, but Cromwell's disciplined horsemen had rallied and were the key to victory. Sir Thomas Fairfax had managed to make his way alone through Goring's men to reach Cromwell and relate the state of affairs on the Allied right flank. Cromwell now led his cavalry right around the Royalist rear to attack Goring's wing from behind. Goring tried to rally his tired troops to meet this threat, but they too were routed.

Cromwell and Crawford now turned on the remains of the Royalist centre, routing successive units. Finally some of Newcastle's foot, the "whitecoats", gathered for a last stand in an enclosure named White Sike Close, where for a while they repulsed all Cromwell's attacks. They refused to surrender and eventually they were overwhelmed, only a handful surviving.

The Royalists lost 4000 men killed, many from the last stand of the whitecoats. 1500 Royalists were taken prisoner, including Sir Charles Lucas and Henry Tillier. The Scots' and Parliamentarian casualties were much lighter; perhaps as few as 300 killed. The brunt of the Allied casualties fell on Fairfax's army. Sir Thomas Fairfax's brother Charles was mortally wounded.

Aftermath

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Two days after the battle, Rupert rallied 5000 cavalry and a few hundred infantry in York. He considered that he was required to return south to rejoin the King, and marched back over the Pennines. Meanwhile, the Marquess of Newcastle (who had spent all of his vast fortune in the Royalist cause) and his senior officers went into exile overseas. With Rupert's and Newcastle's departure, the Royalists effectively abandoned the North of England.

The Allies regrouped themselves and resumed the siege of York. The garrison surrendered on honourable terms on July 16. Over the next few months the Scots and Parliamentarians slowly eliminated the remaining Royalist garrisons throughout northern England.

For the first time in the war, Prince Rupert had been decisively beaten, and lost his reputation for invincibility. In the aftermath of the battle, the body of his lapdog, "Boye", was discovered. Parliamentarian propaganda made much of this, treating Boye almost as a Devil's familiar.

In contrast, Oliver Cromwell's warty reputation as a cavalry commander was made. Over the following months, he was to exert increasing influence both in the House of Commons and in the Parliamentarian armies in the field.

See also

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• Marston Moor Order of Battle

References

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Battles of the English Civil Wars | History of Yorkshire

Schlacht von Marston Moor | Bataille de Marston Moor | マーストン・ムーアの戦い | Slag bij Marston Moor