Editing Battle of Edgehill (section)

==Battle==
[[File:Battle of Edgehill map.svg|thumb|upright=1.25|An interpretation of the Battle of Edgehill within Radway field – Royalists blue, Parliamentarians red]]
[[File:Prince Rupert at Edgehill.jpg|alt=A drawing of a fight between two groups of cavalry. Prince Rupert is on the left side of the image pointing his sword.|upright=1.25|thumb|Prince Rupert leads the Royalist cavalry]]

As Essex showed no signs of wishing to attack, the Royalists began to descend the slope of Edge Hill some time after midday. Even when they had completed this manoeuvre at about two o'clock, the battle did not begin until the sight of the King with his large entourage riding from regiment to regiment to encourage his soldiers, apparently goaded the Parliamentarians into opening fire.{{sfn|Young|1995|p=104}}

The King's party withdrew out of range and an artillery duel started. The Royalist guns were not effective, as most of them were deployed some way up the slope; from this height most of their shots plunged harmlessly into the earth. While the bombardment continued however, the Royalist dragoons advanced on each flank and drove back the Parliamentarian dragoons and musketeers covering their wings of horse.

On the right flank, Rupert gave the order to attack. As his charge gathered momentum, a troop of Parliamentarian horse under [[Faithful Fortescue]] abruptly defected. The rest of Ramsay's brigade gave an ineffectual volley of pistol fire from the saddle before turning to flee. Rupert's and Byron's troopers rapidly overran the Parliamentarian guns and musketeers on this flank and galloped jubilantly in pursuit of Ramsay's men, to the detriment of the infantry.

Wilmot charged about the same time on the other flank. Feilding's outnumbered troops quickly gave way, and Wilmot and Digby also chased them to Kineton where the Royalist horse fell out to loot the Parliamentarian baggage. Sir [[Charles Lucas]] and [[William Villiers, 2nd Viscount Grandison|Lord Grandison]] rallied about 200 men, but when they tried to charge the Parliamentarian rear, they were distracted by fugitives from Charles Essex's routed brigade.{{sfn|Young|Holmes|2000|pages=78–79}}

The Royalist infantry also advanced in the centre under Ruthven. Many of the Parliamentarian foot had already run away as their cavalry disappeared, and others fled as the infantry came to close quarters. The brigades of Sir Thomas Ballard and Sir [[John Meldrum]] nevertheless stood their ground. The Parliamentarian cavalry regiments of Stapleton and Balfour emerged through gaps in the line of Parliamentarian foot soldiers, and charged the Royalist infantry. With no Royalist cavalry to oppose them, they put many units to flight.

The King had left himself without any proper reserve. As his centre gave way, he ordered one of his officers to conduct his sons [[Charles II of England|Charles]] (the Prince of Wales) and [[James II of England|James]] (the Duke of York) to safety while Ruthven rallied his infantry. Some of Balfour's men charged so far into the Royalist position that they menaced the princes' escort and briefly overran the Royalist artillery before withdrawing.{{sfn|Young|1995|pp=114–115}} In the front ranks, Lord Lindsey was mortally wounded, and Sir [[Edmund Verney (Cavalier)|Edmund Verney]] died defending the Royal Standard, which was captured by Parliamentarian [[Ensign (rank)|Ensign]] Arthur Young. By this time, some of the Royalist horse had rallied and were returning from Kineton. Lieutenant Colonel Robert Welch (variously spelled Welch, Welsh, or Walsh){{efn|Royal warrants were written for several medals, including the 'Forlorn Hope' medal, and the medals awarded to Capt. John Smith and Sir Robert Welch (or Welsh, Walsh).{{sfn|Platt|2017}}}} of Wilmot's Horse recaptured the Royal Standard by a subterfuge as it was being taken to the Parliamentarian rear as a trophy.

Welch also captured two Parliamentarian cannon. As the light began to fade, the battle ended with a fire fight from either side of a dividing ditch, before nightfall eventually brought a natural close to hostilities. The Royalists had been forced back to the position they had originally advanced from, but had regrouped.