Editing English Civil War (section)

==First English Civil War (1642–1646)==
{{Main|First English Civil War}}
[[File:English civil war map 1642 to 1645.JPG|thumb|250px|Maps of territory held by Royalists (red) and Parliamentarians (yellow-green), 1642–1645]]
In early January 1642, a few days after failing to capture five members of the House of Commons, Charles feared for the safety of his family and retinue and left the London area for the north country.{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1970|p=57}}

Further frequent negotiations by letter between the King and the Long Parliament, through to early summer, proved fruitless. On 1 June<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tTNDAQAAMAAJ&q=nineteen+propositions&pg=PA130 |title=The Parliamentary or Constitutional History of England, Vol. XI |date=1753 |publisher=William Sandry |location=London |pages=129–135}}</ref> the [[House of Lords|English Lords]] and [[House of Commons of England|Commons]] approved a list of proposals known as the [[Nineteen Propositions]]. In these demands, the Parliament sought a larger share of power in the governance of the kingdom. Before the end of the month the King rejected the Propositions.

[[File:Cavalier Troops Mustering outside the Guildhall, Exeter.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|left|'Cavalier Troops Mustering outside the Guildhall, Exeter' by John Joseph Barker, 1886. This oil on canvas depicts Cavalier troops in what is quite a dark image outside the [[Exeter Guildhall]]. From the [[Royal Albert Memorial Museum]]'s collection (93/1978x)]]
As the summer progressed, cities and towns declared their sympathies for one faction or the other: for example, the garrison of [[Portsmouth]] commanded by [[George Goring, Lord Goring|George Goring]] declared for the King,{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1970|p=107}} but when Charles tried to acquire arms from [[Kingston upon Hull]], the weaponry depository used in the previous Scottish campaigns, [[Sir John Hotham, 1st Baronet|John Hotham]], the military governor appointed by Parliament in January, refused to let Charles enter the town,{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1970|p=82}} and when Charles returned with more men later, [[Siege of Hull (1642)|Hotham drove them off]].{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1970|p=100}} Charles issued a warrant for Hotham's arrest as a traitor but was powerless to enforce it. Throughout the summer, tensions rose and there was brawling in several places, the first death from the conflict taking place in [[Manchester]].{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1970|p=100}}{{Sfn|Royle|2006|pages=158–166}}

=== 1642 battles ===
{{Main|First English Civil War, 1642}}
[[File:Oliver Cromwell by Samuel Cooper.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|[[Oliver Cromwell]] rose to become<br/>[[Lord Protector]] in 1653]]
At the outset of the conflict, much of the country remained neutral, though the [[Royal Navy]] and most English cities favoured Parliament, while the King found marked support in rural communities. The war quickly spread and eventually involved every level of society. Many areas attempted to remain neutral. Some formed bands of [[Clubmen]] to protect their localities from the worst excesses of the armies of both sides,{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1970|pp=403–404}} but most found it impossible to withstand both King and Parliament.

On one side, the King and his supporters fought for what they saw as traditional government in church and state. On the other, most Parliamentarians initially took up arms to defend what they viewed as a traditional balance of government in church and state, and which they felt had been undermined by bad advice the King received from his advisers — such as [[George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham|George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham]] — and during his [[Personal Rule]] (the "Eleven Years' Tyranny"). The views of the members of Parliament ranged from unquestioning support of the King – at one point during the First Civil War, more members of the Commons and Lords gathered in the King's [[Oxford Parliament (1644)|Oxford Parliament]] than at [[Palace of Westminster|Westminster]] — through to radicals who sought major reforms in [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|religious independence]] and redistribution of power at a national level.

After the debacle at Hull, Charles moved on to [[Nottingham]], raising the royal standard there on 22 August 1642.{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1970|p=111}} At the time, Charles had with him about 2,000 cavalry and a small number of Yorkshire infantrymen, and using the archaic system of a [[Commission of Array]],{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1970|p=96}} his supporters started to build a larger army around the standard. Charles moved in a westerly direction, first to [[Stafford]], then on to [[Shrewsbury]], as support for his cause seemed particularly strong in the [[River Severn|Severn]] valley area and in North Wales.{{Sfn|Royle|2006|pp=170, 183}} While passing through [[Wellington, Shropshire|Wellington]], he declared in what became known as the "[[Wellington Declaration]]" that he would uphold the "Protestant religion, the laws of England, and the liberty of Parliament".{{Sfn|Sherwood|1992|p=6}}

The Parliamentarians who opposed the King did not remain passive in this pre-war period. As in Hull, they took measures to secure strategic towns and cities by appointing to office men sympathetic to their cause. On 9 June they voted to raise an army of 10,000 volunteers and appointed [[Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex]] its commander three days later.{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1970|pp=108–109}} He received orders "to rescue His Majesty's person, and the persons of the Prince [of Wales] and the Duke of York [James II] out of the hands of those desperate persons who were about them."{{Sfn|Hibbert|1993|p=65}} The [[Lord Lieutenant|Lords Lieutenant]] whom Parliament appointed used the [[Militia Ordinance]] to order the militia to join Essex's army.{{Sfn|Royle|2006|pp=161, 165}}

[[File:Rupert of the Rhine.jpg|thumb|[[Prince Rupert of the Rhine]]]]
Two weeks after the King had raised his standard at Nottingham, Essex led his army north towards [[Northampton]],{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1970|p=113}} picking up support along the way (including a detachment of [[Huntingdonshire]] cavalry raised and commanded by Oliver Cromwell).{{Efn|Cromwell had already secured Cambridge and the supplies of college silver.{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1970|p=106}}}} By mid-September Essex's forces had grown to 21,000 infantry and 4,200 cavalry and [[dragoon]]s. On 14 September he moved his army to [[Coventry]] and then to the north of the [[Cotswolds]],{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1970|p=115}} a strategy that placed it between the Royalists and London. With the size of both armies now in the tens of thousands and only [[Worcestershire]] between them, it was inevitable that cavalry reconnaissance units would meet sooner or later. This happened in the first major skirmish of the Civil War, when a troop of about 1,000 Royalist cavalry under [[Prince Rupert]], a German nephew of the King and one of the outstanding cavalry commanders of the war,{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1970|p=148}} defeated a Parliamentary cavalry detachment under Colonel John Brown at the [[Battle of Powick Bridge]], which crossed the [[River Teme]] close to [[Worcester, England|Worcester]].{{Sfn|Royle|2006|pp=171–188}}

Rupert withdrew to Shrewsbury, where a council-of-war discussed two courses of action: whether to advance towards Essex's new position near Worcester, or march down the now open road towards London. The Council decided on the London route, but not to avoid a battle, for the Royalist generals wanted to fight Essex before he grew too strong, and the temper of both sides made it impossible to postpone the decision. In the [[Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon|Earl of Clarendon's]] words, "it was considered more counsellable to march towards London, it being morally sure that the earl of Essex would put himself in their way."{{Sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=404}} Hence, the army left Shrewsbury on 12 October, gaining two days' start on the enemy, and moved south-east. This had the desired effect of forcing Essex to move to intercept them.{{Sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=404}}

The first [[pitched battle]] of the war, at [[Battle of Edgehill|Edgehill]] on 23 October, proved inconclusive, both Royalists and Parliamentarians claiming victory.{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1970|pp=130–101}} The second field action, the stand-off at [[Turnham Green (Battle)|Turnham Green]], saw Charles forced to withdraw to [[Oxford]],{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1970|p=135}} which would serve as his base for the rest of the war.{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1970|pp=167–168, 506–507}}

=== 1643 battles ===
{{Main|First English Civil War, 1643}}
In 1643, Royalist forces won at [[Battle of Adwalton Moor|Adwalton Moor]], gaining control of most of [[Yorkshire]].{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1970|p=209}} In the Midlands, a Parliamentary force under [[Sir John Gell, 1st Baronet|John Gell]] besieged and captured the cathedral city of [[Lichfield]], after the death of the original commander, [[Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke|Lord Brooke]].{{Sfn|Wanklyn|Jones|2005|p=74}} This group then joined forces with [[Sir William Brereton, 1st Baronet|William Brereton]] at the inconclusive [[Battle of Hopton Heath]] (19 March), where the Royalist commander, the [[Spencer Compton, 2nd Earl of Northampton|Earl of Northampton]], was killed.{{Sfn|Wanklyn|Jones|2005|p=74}} [[John Hampden]] died after being wounded in the [[Battle of Chalgrove Field]] (18 June 1643).<ref name="Adair 1976"/> Subsequent battles in the west of England at [[Battle of Lansdowne|Lansdowne]] and [[Battle of Roundway Down|Roundway Down]] also went to the Royalists.{{Sfn|Wanklyn|Jones|2005|p=103}} Prince Rupert could then take [[Bristol]]. In the same year, however, Cromwell formed his troop of "[[Ironside (cavalry)|Ironsides]]", a disciplined unit that demonstrated his military leadership ability. With their assistance he won a victory at the [[Battle of Gainsborough]] in July.{{Sfn|Young|Holmes|1974|p=151}}

[[File:Alexleslie.jpg|thumb|[[Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven]], Lord General of the Covenanter Army and one of the victors of Marston Moor]]
At this stage, from 7 to 9 August, there were some popular demonstrations in London – both for and against war. They were protesting at Westminster. A peace demonstration by London women, which turned violent, was suppressed; the women were beaten and fired upon with live ammunition, leaving several dead. Many were arrested and incarcerated in [[Bridewell]] and other prisons.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gentles |first=I. J. |date=12 July 2007 |title=Parliamentary Politics and the Politics of the Street: The London Peace Campaigns of 1642-3 |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/217695 |journal=Parliamentary History |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=139–159 |doi=10.1353/pah.2007.0017 |issn=1750-0206 |s2cid=201772247 |access-date=10 March 2021}}</ref> After these August events, the [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] ambassador in England reported to the [[Doge of Venice|doge]] that the London government took considerable measures to stifle dissent.{{Sfn|Norton|2011|loc=p.~93}}

In general, the early part of the war went well for the Royalists. The turning point came in the late summer and early autumn of 1643, when the Earl of Essex's army forced the king to raise the [[Siege of Gloucester]]{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1970|p=232}} and then brushed the Royalists aside at the [[First Battle of Newbury]] (20 September),{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1970|p=238}} to return triumphantly to London. Parliamentarian forces led by the Earl of Manchester besieged the port of [[King's Lynn]], Norfolk, which under [[Hamon L'Estrange]] held out until September.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Yaxley |first=Susan |title=The Siege of King's Lynn 1643 |date=1993 |publisher=Larks Press}}</ref> Other forces won the [[Battle of Winceby]],{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1970|p=248}} giving them control of [[Lincoln, England|Lincoln]]. Political manoeuvring to gain an advantage in numbers led Charles to negotiate a ceasefire in Ireland, freeing up English troops to fight on the Royalist side in England,{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1970|pp=298–299}} while Parliament offered concessions to the Scots in return for aid and assistance.

=== 1644 battles ===
{{Main|First English Civil War, 1644}}
[[File:Battle of Marston Moor 1644 by John Barker.png|thumb|upright=1.6|The [[Battle of Marston Moor]] in July 1644 was won by the [[Roundhead|Parliamentarians]]]]
Helped by the Scots, Parliament won at [[Battle of Marston Moor|Marston Moor]] (2 July),{{Sfn|Wanklyn|Jones|2005|p=189}} gaining [[York]] and the north of England.{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1970|p=322}} Cromwell's conduct in the battle proved decisive,{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1970|p=319}} and showed his potential as a political and as an important military leader. Parliament's defeat at the [[Battle of Lostwithiel]] in Cornwall, however, marked a serious reverse in the south-west of England.{{Sfn|Ashley|1990|p=188}} Subsequent [[Second Battle of Newbury|fighting around Newbury]] (27 October), though tactically indecisive, strategically gave another check to Parliament.{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1970|p=359}}

=== 1645 battles ===
{{Main|First English Civil War, 1645}}
In 1645, Parliament reaffirmed its determination to fight the war to a finish. It passed the [[Self-denying Ordinance]], by which all members of either House of Parliament laid down their commands and re-organised its main forces into the [[New Model Army]], under the command of [[Thomas Fairfax]], with Cromwell as his second-in-command and [[Lieutenant general|Lieutenant-General]] of Horse.{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1970|p=373}} In two decisive engagements – the [[Battle of Naseby]] on 14 June and the [[Battle of Langport]] on 10 July – the Parliamentarians effectively destroyed Charles's armies.{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1970|p=428}}

=== 1646 battles ===
{{Main|First English Civil War, 1646}}
In the remains of his English realm, Charles tried to recover a stable base of support by consolidating the Midlands. He began to form an axis between Oxford and [[Newark-on-Trent]] in Nottinghamshire. These towns had become fortresses and showed more reliable loyalty to him than others. He took [[Leicester]], which lies between them, but found his resources exhausted. Having little opportunity to replenish them, in May 1646 [[Charles I's journey from Oxford to the Scottish army camp near Newark|he sought shelter]] with a Presbyterian Scottish army at [[Southwell, Nottinghamshire|Southwell]] in Nottinghamshire.{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1970|pp=519–520}} Charles was eventually handed over to the English Parliament by the Scots and imprisoned.{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1970|p=570}} This marked the end of the First English Civil War.