Keep Your Powder Dry

The third of three Covenanter regiments of foot to get their time in the spotlight.   John Lindsay, the Earl of Crawford-Lindsay would serve as a Colonel in both of the Bishops' Wars; however, he did not share sole colonelcy of these regiments. He would not take sole colonelcy of a regiment of foot until he was commissioned in 1643 in both the Ulster Army, and the Army of the Solemn League and Covenant. It is assumed that most of the men, for the Ulster regiment, came from Fife. It is thought that the regiment may have taken part in expeditions led by Munro in 1643. Lindsay would return to Scotland in 1644 to join his 'other' regiment.  The Solemn League regiment was raised in 1643 in the Fife presbyteries of Cupar and St Andrews: they were commanded initially by Thomas Moffat, whilst Lindsay was in Ulster. There appears to have been a considerable amount of exchanges of officers between he two regiments during this time.  The regiment marched south with Leven's Army ta...

Another regiment that appeared only fleetingly: a Covenanter Regiment of Foot raised for the Bishops' Wars, then seeing service in England, Scotland and in the Second Civil War Originally raised in 1638 in Peeblesshire, they were involved in the capture of Dalkeith House, before they joined Leslie’s army at Duns Law. They were disbanded following the Treaty of Birks in June 1639. John, Master of Yester, received his commission late August 1643 to raise the regiment anew in Linlithgow and Tweeddale presbyteries. He selected a professional soldier, William Johnston, as his lieutenant colonel. The Master of Yester would spend most of 1642-3 accompanying the Royalist army in England. The regiment marched south into England and engaged in their first combat by storming the fort at South Shields. They would serve at the siege of York and Marston Moor, where they were brigaded with the Stirlingshire Foot in the Scottish second line. After Marston Moor they marched to Leeds. They would ret...

Not a 'new' Regiment, but another in the series of 'briefly mentioned, I'd better go into a bit more detail' posts. So here is fifteen minutes of fame for the Earl of Buccleugh's Regiment of Foot. Later known as Colonel Walter Scott’s, then Colonel William Baillie’s Regiment of Foot, they were also known as the Tweeddale Foot. The Tweeddale Foot were raised in August/September of 1643 by Francis Scott, the 2nd Earl of Buccleugh (now spelled Buccleuch). The majority of its men came from the presbytery of Selkirk. Numbering 1200 men they joined Leven's army in January 1644 and marched south into England. Their first engagement was at the Battle of Hylton to the west of Sunderland (also known as the Battle of Boldon Hills), closely followed by joining the besiegers of York. They were brigaded with Loudon's Glasgow Foot at Marston Moor, but fled the field after being broken by the left wing of the Royalist horse. They were then quartered in South Yorkshire, ...

The latest five minutes of the spotlight falls upon the Earl of Manchester's Regiment of Horse; coincidentally, this is the 300th post. Which surprises me as I never thought I'd be able to blather on this much. A little celebratory sherry might be in order. The Regiment was large, they were able to field 11 troops at Marston Moor, and as a result,  they had an additional Colonel. The Regiment's troops had cornets with different coloured fields: Manchester's cornet had a green field; Colonel Algernon Sidney's cornet had a blue field; Captain Robert Sparrow's had a red field; Captain William Dingley's cornet also had a red field; Captain Thomas Hammond's cornet  had a blue field; and Captain Valentine Walton's cornet also had a red field. Sidney was the commander of the Regiment in the field; he was seriously wounded at Marston Moor, and relinquished command when the Regiment joined the New Model Army. The Regiment would be known as Colonel...

The next five minute's of fame spotlight falls upon George Dodding's Regiment of Horse. This short lived regiment probably only numbered two troops, as Dodding only claimed pay as a Captain of Horse (he also claimed pay as a Colonel of Foot ).  What troops they had, appear to have been hastily assembled - Captain Cripps' troop was mustered two days before Marston Moor, and numbered just 50 men. The Regiment fought at Lathom House; Marston Moor; a skirmish at Ribble Bridge; a skirmish at Witten Cop; Ormskirk; and the siege of Greenhalgh Castle. If you enjoyed reading this, or any of the other posts, please consider  supporting  the blog.  Thanks .

 After what seems like a very long break from painting I return to my last, currently planned*, Regiment of Foot. So without further ado, let me introduce the White Regiment of Foot of the London Trained Bands. The second most senior regiment in the LTB, they were recruited from north of the City: Cornhill, Lombard Street, Fenchurch Street, and upper Gracechurch Street. An area of London populated by goldsmiths, financiers and wealthy merchants.  Their colonel, Alderman Isaac Penington had been elected as a sheriff of London in 1638, and would be appointed Lord Mayor when Parliament removed the Royalist Sir Richard Gurney from office in August 1642. In 1649 Penington would be made a commissioner of the High Court of Justice and attended the King's trial: he did not sign Charles's death warrant. He would surrender at the Restoration, hoping for leniency as he hadn't been a signatory of the death warrant. His lands were confiscated and he would spend the rest of h...

The latest batch of completed units who appeared very briefly on the blog, now get their full five minutes in the spotlight. Kicking us off is Colonel Francis Russell's Regiment of Horse. Originally raised as a troop for Essex's Regiment of Horse in 1643, they became a regiment in their own right in 1644. The troop fought, not surprisingly, in Essex's Army. When they became a Regiment in their own right they transferred to the Eastern Association before joining the New Model Army in 1645. As Russell's they fought at the siege of Newark; Cotes Bridge; Newark; the siege of York; Marston Moor: the siege of Banbury Castle; and Melton Mowbray. In April 1645, they entered the New Model Army as Colonel Charles Fleetwood’s Regiment of Horse (Fleetwood had taken command in March 1644). Russell, had been Governor of Lichfield, until he surrendered the town to Prince Rupert in 1643; he would then be appointed governor of the islands of Jersey and Guernsey. His daughter married Cr...

In the interests of varsity equal opportunities, after visiting Cambridge, it was only a matter of time before the ECW travelogue made a flask up and ventured south to... Oxford: ancient University city, home of dreaming spires, Inspector Morse, and where King Charles presided over his court after failing to secure London. Bradshaw's Hat, on display at the Ashmolean. Lord President, Bradshaw reputedly wore the reinforced hat during the trial of Charles I in case of an assassination attempt* Charles set up court at Christ Church in October 1642, and would ultimately set up a rival Parliament in the city in 1644. Besieged many times by Parliament, the city was significantly fortified, and the garrison far outnumbered the resident population.  What's There Today? Probably the best place to start is the  Ashmolean Museum : one of the world's great treasure houses there are a number of artefacts on display relating to the Civil War. The Ashmolean also has a self guided Civil ...