This week in class, we researched the English Civil War, and focussed in on one key figure to do with it. We dug deeper into our chosen topic, and mine was primarily based on the Battle of Naseby and how it lead to King Charles I being captured.
The Battle Of Naseby was a key turning point in the English Civil War. Where King Charles I, and the influential leader of the Parliaments, Oliver Cromwell, face each other in a battle that leaves the King’s Royalists side without a true leader. The battle took place on June 14th, 1645, and eventually lead to the final pursuit and capture of King Charles I.
In May of 1645, Charles I was marching northwards to retake Marston Moor, after their defeat. And the New Model Army was on it’s way to Oxford for an attack. Charles planned to divert the Roundheads from the Oxford attack, and so the Royalists marched southbound from 60 miles north of Oxford, in Leicester. But, on June 12th, Charles soon found out that the New Model Army and commander Thomas Fairfax were marching northbound towards the Royalists, and that the Roundheads had quite a numerical advantage over Charles and his Royalists.
Finally, on June 14th, both sides stood poised at Broad Moor near the town of Naseby, and at ten o’clock in the morning, Prince Rupert (Commander in Chief of The Royalists side) was the first to lead a charge into battle. A little while into the fight, the Royalists suddenly had both of their flanks open for the Parliaments to attack. Prince Rupert’s infantry was upholding against Parliamentary attacks, but most of the Royalists, including King Charles, ran from the battle. They were pursued by Oliver Cromwell, Thomas Fairfax, and the New Model Army, almost until they got to the city of Leicester once again.
Oliver Cromwell Leading The New Model Army
There were battles following the battle of Naseby, but none under the command of King Charles, as this battle seemed to put the Royalists in a position where they were unable to recover from the defeat. A few years later, in 1648, King Charles surrendered himself to the Scottish Army where they then handed him over to the English Parliament after nine months. Charles told the Parliament commanders, “you cannot be without me: you will fall to ruin if I do not sustain you.” He saw the monarchy as a sense of stability and believed that England could not survive without it.
So I know that, for me, the Battle of Naseby lead to the capture, and eventually the execution of King Charles I. It was the turning point where King Charles was overthrown and the Royalists fell apart and couldn’t put the pieces back together.
