Gloucester and Newbury, 1643 : the turning point of the Civil War

Jon Day Uses Fresh Documentary Research And Landscape Evidence To Explain The Political Background, The Royalist Failure To Capture Gloucester And The Dynamic Encounter Battle At Newbury. He Weaves Together Official Correspondence, Vivid First-hand Accounts Of The Fighting, Intelligence Reports And Logistic Records, Plus Previously Unused Early Maps, To Rewrite The History Of The Campaign. He Also Suggests A New Layout For The Newbury Battlefield And Reassesses The Leaders On Both Sides--dust Jacket. Gallant Men Lay On The Ground Like Rotting Sheep' -- 'the Next Design' -- 'a Civil, Courteous And Religious People' -- 'no Good News' -- 'insolent And Seditious Answers' -- 'this Business May Draw Into Greater Length Than Was Imagined' -- 'i Am Tomorrow, God Willing, Beginning My March' -- 'we Shall Do Little Good Upon This Town' -- 'the Fools Were Cozened' -- 'no Orders Were Given Out For The Manner Of Our Fighting' -- 'exceeding Long And Quick Marches' -- 'a Hill Called Big's-hill, Near To Newbury' -- 'let Us Fall Upon Them' -- 'our Foot Played The Jades' -- 'they Knocked Out Their Brains With The Butt-ends Of Their Muskets' -- 'a Stop To The Career Of The King's Good Success'. Jon Day. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [237]-240) And Index. The campaign that led to the first Battle of Newbury in 1643 represents a vital phase in the English Civil War, yet rarely has it received the attention it deserves. In this compelling and meticulously researched new study, Jon Day shows how the campaign was critical to the outcome of the war and the defeat of Charles I. The late summer 1643 was the military high tide for the king and his armies, yet within two months the opportunity had been squandered. The Royalists failed first to take the Parliamentarian stronghold of Gloucester and then to defeat the Earl of Essex's army at Newbury. If the Civil War had a tipping point, this was surely it. [Elib] The campaign that led to the first Battle of Newbury in 1643 represents a vital phase in the English Civil War. This work shows how the campaign was critical to the outcome of the war and the defeat of Charles I. The late summer 1643 was the military high tide for the king and his armies, yet within two months the opportunity had been squandered.