Editing Battle of Lansdowne (section)

==Battle==
Early on 5 July 1643, Waller moved to the north end of Lansdowne Hill, where he built crude [[breastworks]] for his infantry,{{sfn|Plant 1 December 2009}} and sent some of his cavalry against Hopton's outposts. The Parliamentarians put to flight some badly led Royalist cavalry, and the alarm caused all of Hopton's army to form up and to begin advancing west until they came in sight of Waller's position.

The two forces engaged in indecisive skirmishing for two hours until Waller tried to withdraw. Waller once again sent his horse and [[Dragoon|dragoons]] against the Royalists' rearguard, and this time they routed the Royalist cavalry, although the infantry stood firm. Hopton's army then turned about and ultimately defeated the Roundhead cavalry in a confused action. With his Cornish foot regiments already advancing without orders, Hopton at last attacked Lansdowne Hill.

As they charged up the steep slopes towards the Parliamentarian position on the crest, Hopton's cavalry suffered badly, and many panicked. As many as 1,400 of them fled, some as far as [[Oxford]]. Under Sir [[Bevil Grenville]], Hopton's Cornish pikemen stormed Waller's breastworks, while Royalist musketeers outflanked Waller's forces through the woods on each side of his position. Grenville was mortally wounded in hand-to-hand combat as the Parliamentarian horse cavalry counter-attacked and were driven off. Waller's infantry fell back to a wall across the crest of the hill from where they kept up musket fire until darkness fell. During the night, they withdrew silently, leaving burning matches on the wall to deceive the Royalists that they still held the position.{{sfn|The Battle of Lansdown Hill, The Battlefields Trust}}