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At the end of January 1644 over 20,000 Scottish troops crossed the border into England, in fulfillment of the promise
made when parliament agreed to the Solemn League and Covenant in the autumn of 1643. The duke of Newcastle, royalist commander in northern England, managed to delay the Scots but he could not halt them, and on 22 April
he was besieged in York by a united army of Scotsmen and parliamentarians. King Charles saw the danger of this situation: his forces depended heavily on imports of weapons from the Netherlands, brought to England
through the port of Newcastle; if the North should fall, Charles's royalist army would be hard pressed to keep itself equipped. Charles ordered his nephew, the gallant, cruel and romantic Prince Rupert, to relieve York.
Rupert abandoned his operations in Lancashire and skillfully surprised the parliamentary besiegers by unexpectedly approaching York from the north, not the west. The king and Newcastle would both have preferred him to
stop there. Rupert, however, now sought a battle with the united Scottish-English army. He advanced directly on their positions at Long Marston, arriving around mid afternoon on 2 July 1644. Yet his
impetuousness did not extend to launching an immediate attack. Newcastle believed the men were too tired for a battle; certainly they sought a rest from the rigours of their recent siege before fighting again. Rupert
chose to delay the action until the morrow, and ordered his 20,000 man army to break ranks and camp. Instead he found himself being surprised by an enemy attack in the late evening. The parliamentarian army was over
25,000 strong, drawn up in battle array. Singing psalms they advanced confidently into action. Cromwell led the attack on the royalist army's right and the weight of his Ironsides shattered the enemy cavalry. Rupert saw
that the situation was critical - he was outnumbered and now in danger of having his flank turned. In a heavy downpour he led his cavalry reserve against the victorious Ironsides. Rupert pushed Cromwell's horse back,
but he then ran into the Scots under David Leslie. They proved too tough for Rupert's cavaliers. His horsemen were soon in retreat. On their left flank the royalists successfully held off the attacks of the
parliamentarians, but the battle was to be decided by the action in the central sector. Here the parliamentary infantry, including a Scottish contingent, had advanced directly against the royalists. A
cavalry charge, taking a curving route out from behind the royalist centre, halted them. Despite the defeat of the royalist right, the precarious situation on their left and the stalemate in the centre meant the battle
was still in the balance. Or would have been, had the royalists any reserves to hurl into the fray. The parliamentarians' considerable superiority in numbers tipped the scales. Cromwell reorganised his victorious forces
and now led them against the royalist infantry in the centre. It was the last straw for the royalist army. Tired and demoralised they fled the field, except for the duke of Newcastle's infantry, especially the
'Whitecoat' regiment. These soldiers refused to surrender and never broke; most were killed at their battlefield posts. The Scottish contingents had played a major role at Marston Moor, and the battle brought to an end
royalist ambitions in northern England. Rupert's reputation as an invincible cavalry commander was also lost at Marston Moor. More poignantly, his dog Boy, who had accompanied him into every battle he had fought in
England, had gone missing. Its little white carcass was found on the field by the parliamentarians the next day. |
