Battle of Naseby

Type of action: Ground battle in the English Civil War of 1642–1651

Date: June 14, 1645

Location: Naseby, Northamptonshire (twenty miles south of Leicester)

Combatants: 11,000 Royalists vs. 17,000 Parliamentarians

Principal commanders: Royalist, Charles I (1600–1649), Prince Rupert (1619–1682), Jacob, Lord Astley (1579–1652); Parliamentarian, Thomas Fairfax, third baron of Cameron (1612–1671), Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658)

Result: Decisive Parliamentary victory and the turning point in the first phase of the English Civil War

The Royalist war council was divided about engaging the Parliamentarians’ New Model Army in Northamptonshire in early June, 1645. Though flushed with victory after storming Leicester on May 31, some counseled relieving Oxford; others urged a march north to aid forces at Pontefract and Scarborough and to win new recruits. Still others cautioned against action until reinforcements arrived; however, those favoring immediate confrontation with the New Model Army carried the day, and the army moved into position near Naseby. Underestimating the strength of the Parliamentary army, the Royalists abandoned an advantageous line to search out their enemy. They located them entrenched on high ground to the north of the village on June 14. Although outnumbered, the Royalists remained confident of victory and initiated the action.

Oliver Cromwell’s Roundheads held their ground as the Royalists advanced across Broad Moor to the base of Mill Hill. They were equally convinced of success. Prince Rupert pressed his cavalry forward, following the pattern set at Edgehill in 1642. Rupert and the cavalry sliced through the Parliamentary horsemen of Henry Ireton, pursuing them until they reached the army’s main baggage train near Naseby. Rupert’s precipitous action drew his forces far from the battleground. When the cavalry advance finally met musket resistance, he returned to the main arena; however, it was too late. Initially, the Royalist infantry under Jacob, Lord Astley, also advanced successfully and seemed to be winning the day.

To halt the infantry advance, Cromwell’s cavalry attacked the right wing of the Royalist cavalry and the flank of their infantry as they crossed wet ground and sought to progress uphill. In a fierce, bloody struggle, this assault routed the Royalist horsemen under Sir Marmaduke Langdale and exposed the main body of Astley’s infantry. Thomas Fairfax, third baron of Cameron’s regiment, supported by Cromwell and powered by its numerical advantage, moved forward, hammered the enemy left and crushed them. By the end of the battle, Fairfax’s veteran New Model Army had seized the original Royalist position and Charles I was in full retreat. Most of his cavalry escaped; however, the Royalists abandoned their artillery and lost the bulk of their veteran foot soldiers. Among those killed or captured were the last soldiers who had followed Charles faithfully since 1642. The backbone of the royal army had been broken.

Although the loss was catastrophic for the Royalists, their casualties at Naseby were remarkably small. They suffered approximately 600 dead; however, about 5,000 prisoners were taken, including 500 officers. Therefore, even if the king could muster new recruits, his experienced officer corps was fatally depleted. He could never again match Parliament’s growing military advantage. Compounding these seemingly insurmountable military difficulties, a packet of the king’s letters to his wife, Henrietta Maria, fell into Parliamentary hands. They illuminated Charles’s desperation and had enormous propaganda value in England. In the letters, the king expressed willingness to grant religious concessions to Roman Catholics in exchange for their military support and even proposed to import French mercenaries.

By the end of June, the Royalists surrendered five garrisons. Ten more, including Pontefract and Scarborough, were taken in July, and more than twenty additional garrisons were in Parliamentary hands by January. The Parliamentary armies understood the blow struck at Naseby and vigorously followed up their advantage to end the war.

Significance

Parliament’s overwhelming victory turned the tide against the royalists in the first phase of the English Civil War. After Naseby, the New Model Army pursued the king and his armies. Charles moved from garrison to garrison and sought to negotiate with Parliament for better terms. Failing, he finally surrendered to the Scots in May, 1646.

Bibliography

Ashley, Maurice. The Battle of Naseby and the Fall of King Charles I. Stroud, Gloucestershire, England: Alan Sutton and St. Martin’s Press, 1992.

Carlton, Charles. Going to the Wars: The Experience of the British Civil Wars, 1638–1651. London: Routledge, 1992.

Gentles, Ian. The New Model Army in England, Ireland, and Scotland, 1645–1653. Oxford: Blackwell, 1992.

Kishlansky, Mark A. The Rise of the New Model Army. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1979.

Young, Peter. Naseby, 1645: The Campaign and the Battle. London: Century, 1985.