Henry Ireton

Henry Ireton (1611 - November 26, 1651), was an English general in the army of Parliament during the English Civil War.

Early Life

He was the eldest son of German Ireton of Attenborough, Nottinghamshire, and was baptized on November 3 1611. He became a gentleman commoner of Trinity College, Oxford in 1626, graduated BA in 1629, and entered the Middle Temple the same year.

English Civil War

On the outbreak of the Civil War he joined the parliamentary army, fighting at the Battle of Edgehill in October, 1642, and at the Battle of Gainsborough in July 1643. He was made deputy-governor of the Isle of Ely by Cromwell, and served under Manchester in the Yorkshire campaign and at the second Battle of Newbury, afterwards supporting Cromwell in his accusations of incompetency against the general.

On the night before the battle of Naseby, in June 1645, Ireton succeeded in surprising the Royalist army and captured many prisoners, and next day, on the suggestion of Cromwell, he was made commissary-general and appointed to the command of the left wing, Cromwell himself commanding the right. The wing under Ireton was completely broken by the impetuous charge of Rupert, and Ireton was wounded and taken prisoner, but after the rout of the enemy which ensued on the successful charge of Cromwell he regained his freedom.

He was present at the siege of Bristol in September 1645, and took an active part in the subsequent victorious campaign which resulted in the overthrow of the royal cause. On October 30, 1645, Ireton entered parliament as member for Appleby. On June 15 1646, during the siege of Oxford he married Bridget, daughter of Oliver Cromwell. The marriage brought Ireton's career into parallel with Cromwell's.

Political views and debates over the future of the monarchy

However, while Cromwell's policy was practically limited to making the best of the present situation, and was inclined to compromise, Ireton's attitude was based on well-grounded principles of statesmanship. At the Putney Debates he opposed extremism, disliked the views of the Republicans and the Levellers, which he considered impractical and dangerous to the foundations upon which society was based, and wished to retain the constitution of King, Lords and Commons He argued for these in the negotiations of the army with Parliament, and in the conferences with the king, being the person chiefly entrusted with the drawing up of the army proposals, including the manifesto called "The Heads of the Proposals" which proposed a constitutional monarchy. He tried to prevent the breach between the army and parliament, but when it happened, he supported the negotiations with the king till his action made him unpopular.

He finally became convinced of the hopelessness of dealing with Charles, and after the king's flight to the Isle of Wight treated his further proposals with coldness and urged the parliament to establish an administration without him. Ireton served under Fairfax in the second civil war in the campaigns in Kent and Essex, and was responsible for the executions of Sir Charles Lucas and Sir George Lisle at Colchester. After the rejection by the king of the last offers of the army, he showed special zeal in bringing about his trial. He wrote the Army's statement about the regicide- the Remonstrance of the Army- with Hugh Peters. He was active in the choice to purge rather than reelect Parliament and supported the Leveller 2nd Agreement of the People. He sat on the King's trial and was one of the commissioners who signed the death warrant.

Irish campaign and death

The regiment of Ireton was chosen by lot to accompany Cromwell in his Irish campaign, and Ireton arrived in Dublin two days after Cromwell on the August 17 1649, along with 77 ships full of troops and supplies. Ireton was appointed major-general and after the conquest of the south of Ireland, Lord President of Munster. He went over with John Cook with a brief to reform the law of Ireland, to anglicise it and make it a model for a new settlement of English law.

When, in May 1650, Cromwell was recalled to England, to take command of a Parlaiemaentary force, preparing to invade Scotland, Ireton assumed command ofthe New Model Army in Ireland with the title and powers of lord-deputy to complete the conquest of the country. This he proceeded to do with his usual energy, and as much by the severity of his methods of punishment as by his military skill. By mid 1650, Ireton and his commanders were faced with two problems. One was the capture of the remaining cities held by the Irish Confederate and Royalists forces, the other was an escalating guerrilla war in the countryside, as Irish fighters known as tories attacked his supply lines. Ireton appealed to the English Parliament to publish lenient surrender terms for Irish Catholics, in order to end their resistance, but when this was refused, he began the laborious process of subduing the Catholic forces.

His first action was to mount a counter guerrilla expedition into the Wicklow Mountains in early June 1650, in order to secure his lines of supply for the Siege of Waterford in Ireland's south east. Having done this, Ireton blockaded Waterford into surrender by August 1650. Not risking an assault, Ireton systematically constructed trenches to bring his siege guns within range of the walls and stationed a Parliamentary fleet off the city to prevent its re-supply. Thomas Preston surrendered Waterford after a three month siege. He then advanced to Limerick by October, but had to call off the siege due to very cold and weather. In early 1651, Ireton issued orders that areas harbouring the "toriy" guerrillas should be systematically stripped of food - this policy contributed to a widespread famine in Ireland by the end of the year. He returned to Limerick in June 1651 and besieged the city for five months until it surrendered in October 1651. At the same time, Galway was under siege by Parliamentarian forces and Ireton personally rode to inspect the command of Charles Cooote, who was blockading that city. The physical strain of his command told on Ireton however and he fell ill.

Shortly afterwards, when he died of fever, just after the capture of Limerick. Ireton had some of the dignitaries of Limerick hanged for their obstinate defence of the city, including an Alderman, a Catholic Bisop and an English Royalist offier, Colonel Fennell. He also wanted the Irish commander, Hugh Dubh O'Neill hanged, but Edmund Ludlow cancelled the order after Iretons' death.

His loss "struck a great sadness into Cromwell," and he was considered a great loss to the administration. By his wife, Bridget Cromwell, Ireton left one son and three daughters. Bridget afterwards married General Charles Fleetwood.

Posthumous execution

After the Restoration, in 1660, Charles II caused Ireton's corpse to be exhumed and mutilated in a macabre posthumous execution, along with that of Cromwell, in retribution for signing his father's death warrant.

Bibliography

Article by CH Firth in Dict. Nat. Biog. with authorities there quoted
Wood's Ath. Oxon. iii 298
Cornelius Brown's Lives of Noted Worthies, 181
Clarke Papers published by the Camden Society
Gardiner's History of the Civil War and of the Commonwealth