A VINDICATION OF colonel SANDYS His Honour and Loyalty: from A DECLARATION pretended to be set forth by him at Worcester October 11. 1642.  
Which is here also republished with it.  
Printed Anno M. DC. XLII.   

The Declaration of Col. Edwin SANDYS, in Vindication of himself from those calumnious Aspersions cast upon him by the Lord Falkland, and Secretary Nicholas.  
Published and subscribed with his own hand at the rendezvous at Worcester, Octob. 11. 1642. in the presence of Sergeant Major Berry, Thomas Cox, Doctor of physic, Captain Walter Long; Captain Robert Long; Lionel Copeley, Muster master general; John Rushworth clerk, Assistant to the Commons House of Parliament.  
IT pleaseth God yet to detain me in that condition, that my pen, and not my sword must vindicate me from the aspersions, which the Letters of the Lord Falkland and Secretary Nicholas have cast on my Reputation, and fidelity in that cause, in which I was lately, and still stand engaged. Both these persons charge me that I should say, That death did not so much trouble me, as that I had endeavoured to defend so bad a cause, which I was driven unto, as well by my own ambition, as by persuasion of other men; and that I wished that all the Actions of the Parliaments Forces might hereafter be unsuccessful; and especially, that I should desire God and the King to forgive me this great sin of Rebellion, &c. They that know me well, know that I have not so much vanity, as to think any discourse necessary for my defence in this case; yet that I may stand clear, as well in the thoughts of strangers as of my friends, I thought fit to render this account to the world. The apprehension of death never hitherto so nearly touched me, but that if God shall once restore me to my former strength, I shall by his help with as much alacity, and I hope courage, endeavour to defend, and maintain with my dearest blood, this so good a cause, as ever I was at first engaged in it. Not my Ambition prompted me unto it, but a legitimate and ardent desire of advancing that cause, which I conceive honours the meanest of them that are employed therein; nor was I drawn into this business by any persuasions, but such as were backed by the best of Arguments, the maintaining of the true Religion, the honour and security of my Prince, the Rights and privileges of the Parliament; and the whole kingdom; such a success I pray for to the designs of the Parliament, and in particular to this Army under the Command of his excellency the Earl of Essex, as by the best of men can possibly be desired, both on His majesty's Person, and this whole kingdom. And lastly, I profess to the whole World, that my conscience did when I was in the gieatest danger of death, and doth still clear me from the guilt of Rebellious or tumultuous thoughts, and that the most puissant motive which carried me on to this Action, was loyalty to my sovereign, & love to my Religion and Country: They certainly thought me dead when they writ these Letters, and by this means hoped to have served their ends, upon some feeble unresolved spirits. But I wonder they should write there are so many hundreds of our men slain, when it is most apparent, that the number both of them that died in the place, and since, never amounted to thirty persons; & their loss no way inferior to ours, considering their great advantage of place, and that they were at least double for number. There was indeed a Divine, who I think was the Dean of Worcester, who came to me to the house where I was first taken up, and accompanied me to the place where I now lie, he continually urged and pressed my conscience, how great a sin I was guilty of in taking up arms against my sovereign, I was not then in case to entertain him in discourse, only at last answered him, I never had, nor ever would take up arms against my sovereign, but ever should be ready to lay my life, and whatsoever was dear unto me at His feet: of this judgement and resolution I still am, and solemnly make this Protestation, in the same sense I have here already declared, and according to the sense of the Parliament in all their Declarations, of which I hope with God's blessing upon my recovery to give further testimony to the World, by the continued engagement of my life and fortune, in this so just and honourable a cause.  
Edwin SANDYS. At the Rendesvouze at Worcester, the 11. of Octob. 1642.   

To colonel Edwin Sandys.  
Sir,  
I have this very Octob to chanced upon a Printed Declaration, pretended to go out under your name: the Title of it premising, A vindication of yourself, from some calumnious aspersions of my Lord Falkland, and Mr. Secretary Nicholas. It will hardly obtain credit with men of free, and disengaged understandings, that personages of so much trust and honour, should over-lightly adventure their own fames, by imposing calumnies upon another's. I therefore little doubt, but that these honourable personages had their grounds from some such good hands: as might either take up some part of the report from your own mouth, or from some others whom they credited. Such as heard it (at first or second hand) from those that visited you upon your bed at Worcester, at such times as you felt more ease from your wounds, and more wounds from your Conscience. For I cannot think, but that among those many visitants, you might utter more of the same kind of remorses, than you did unto myself. But leaving those honourable personages to the vindication of such particulars as you charge upon them, in the general, I am induced to answer thus much for them: for that to myself in pretence of your x Mr John Sandys, you were so free and ingenuous in your acknowledgements and Confession.  
The person of your Confessor, I perceive you have mistaken: by reason, perhaps, of that canonical coat, in which I visited yourself, and such other dying men, before you, as I could come at in the field, and time of battle; but that mistake may be rectified at our next meeting. In the mean time, if your memory were not then as weak as your body, and that you still continue in the same ingenuity which I left you, you will not, cannot deny the generals, and scope of these passages to be true, which you here find asserted: and which upon my credit I will justify to the world; and if you please unto yourself, at our next meeting. What you shall here find goes under the name of a Minister of Prince Rupert's: as the copy of it was at first given abroad. I had no time to alter it, or saw I any cause to change any thing I had written in it.   

Some Notes of the Conference betwixt colonel Sandys, and a Minister of Prince Rupert's.  
THe Minister being met in the field by my Lord Andover, was advised to visit colonel Sandys, and to exhort him to repent of his sins; who finding the wounded colonel in a little house, presented unto him (among his other sins) the unhappiness of his present condition, to suffer in so bad a cause; This with some expressions of remorse he acknowledged, and withal professed, that if it were to do again, he would never appear in it.  
Then the Minister dissuading the people of Worcester from stripping him, contented one of them by taking off one of the colonels spurs and giving them to him; but with this condition, that he should carry up Master Sandys his legs: and upon this consideration, that if so he did, the spurs would then hurt the bearer. But the colonel feeling the chair uneasy, the Minister borrowed a sheet of the house to carry him into the town. At all this was his cousin, Master John Sandys present, and with the Minister went all the way with the colonel, and housed him at the Green-Dragon in Worcester. There the Minister left him for a while: Not long after came sergeant Major Franklin to the colonel, and brought Master Catenby the Surgeon to dress him. To whom the colonel said, Woe, woe to evil counsel, and happy are they that do not take it; with other words to the like purpose, as the sergeant Major told the Minister at first: since which time the Surgeon hath by word of mouth justified it to the Minister. The Minister now returning, first put the colonel in mind of the heinousness of the sin of Rebellion, that it was as the sin of Witchcraft; and that God had commanded, Thou shalt not suffer a Witch to live, which doom was now likely to fall upon him, for God had found him out in his sin: He acknowledged himself to have fallen into the sin of Rebellion, and that God was just in his Judgements; professing therewithal his sorrow and remorse for it. Upon which the Minister returned; That herhaps if ever he recovered the same arguments from others, and inconsiderateness in himself, might again endanger to draw him to continue in his Rebellion: At which words, a little heaving up his hand, he professed He would rather have it cut off, than ever again lift it up against the King. Nor did he at this profession make any mention at all of the Parliament; or conjoin their cause with the Kings. Indeed, said the Minister, you have no reason to appear against the King, if you well considered the cause; and that His majesty was but enforced to take up defensive arms for the Reformed Religion, His own crown, the laws and Liberty of the Subject; And therefore there was much difference betwixt the two causes of the war: these that suffered on the King's side, being a kind of Martyrs. Whereupon the colonel acknowledged the justness of the King's cause; and that he had observed a special blessing of God to go along with it, by the extraordinary successes of it: To this the Minister replied, Sir, I am witness to all these words of yours; but do you give me leave to testify this repentance of yours unto the world? This he freely desired him to testify, and asked God forgiveness: withal praying for the King, and for a blessing upon his cause and proceedings.  
The Minister then added, Sir, I have one sin more to press your conscience with: Sir, you are descended from a Bishop, and your family hath been raised from the Church, therefore the spoil and outrage committed by you in Canterbury Church, was more abominable in you then in another man. To which with some quickness he replied, That it was much against his mind; and that so soon as he heard what his men were doing, he ran among them with his Pole-Axe to beat them off; until he had like to have been hewn in pieces by them.  
The Minister added, Sir, it uses to be required of men dying for their offences, to reveal something that may do right to the party wronged: Wherefore, Sir, it would much ease your conscience, and make the King some part of satisfaction, to discover the secret of the great design against him; Of which, when by one or two earnest denials, he professed himself ignorant; The Minister then desired him to discover what strength the Parliament Forces were of: He said, he could not tell. How strong, said the Minister, are their Foot? Not considerable, says he; Why Sir, said the Minister, you were present lately at their Muster on Dunsmore-Heath, and could you neither by your own observation, nor from the report of others, make judgement of their numbers? Were they 8000, or 10000, or 16000? Neither, said the colonel: not above 6000, or 7000. How strong then are their Horse? Seventy troops, said the colonel: At which the Minister making some doubt, and wonder. On my faith its true, said he, it's no time now to dissemble; you mean Dragooners and all, said the Minister: No, only Troopers, said the other, of my knowledge.  
Then the Minister renewed the motion before made in the little house by the field, concerning the perfecting of his Will; for which he desired him to come again a day or two after. So the Minister perceiving him faint, unwilling therefore to speak much, and desirous to take rest, took his leave; his cousin Sandys and a Servant remaining still with him in the Chamber.  
His cousin can affirm all this; and since told the Minister, that the colonel said much more to him in testimony of his repentance. And among the rest, he bade me report this passage for one. That he asking him, cousin, what meant you being a Gentleman of so fair estate, to engage yourself in this Treason: The colonel replied to him, That he was so far drawn in before he was aware, that he knew not how to come off without the danger of his head. This will his cousin justify to him.   

Sir,  
TO this Testimony of your Confession, some passages in your Vindication provoketh me to subjoin this Postscript. And first to that (page 7.) of your Declaration, (yours if it be, which I much suspect) where you seem to excuse yourself from taking up arms against your sovereign: and that you think your understanding the cause in the sense of the Parliament Declarations, can justify you. Plainly, Sir, I was more watchful upon you then so, to be deceived by words of doubtful, or double sense. Your expressions were clear and explicit, such as best became a Penitent and dying man: nor did you ever so much as once refer yourself to any sense of the Parliament Declarations. And if upon recovery you ever engage yourself against the King, in this cause and sense, let your own hand, then lifted up, be witness with me against you. Take heed, (Master Sandys) of equivocating with God and his anointed; or of dallying with imprecations. But I will hope you to be sincere and real, and that this Declaration (if yours) was but forced from you.  
The other points that I find myself provoked to give answer to, are first, concerning the numbers on both sides slain in battle at Worcester: Though truly Sir, with no delight (God knows) do I remember (much less glory) in the numbers of slain countrymen; yet Sir, whereas the soldiers ordinary phrase after a victory is, The more blood, the more honour. I cannot but take notice of the diminution of honour, which those valiant Princes, Lords, Gentlemen and soldiers, on the King's party have received, by your affirming your loss never to have amounted to thirty persons; and that our loss was no way inferior to yours, considering our great advantage of place; and that we were at least double for number. In confutation of all which in one period, let the Reader (till a larger Narration can be published) be pleased to accept of this little: First, That (if we count right) there were more than that number of thirty found dead in the field after the victory. More than that number also chased into Worcester; and there either slain, or (as our soldiers supposed when they gave them over) deadly wounded. More also then so many Prisoners. All which wounded and captived men, Prince Rupert's noble clemency gave free life and liberty unto. We heard also by townsmen, and such as dwelled by the river and bridge, which your defeated troops fled over; that more than that number were taken up drowned. As for the slain on the King's side, on my credit we could never hear of five, which is just so many as your side lost Colours. Secondly, for the plate, 'twas a plain field upon a hill; the place chosen by yourselves to charge in: where the difficulty of your little ascent to it was fully recompensed, by your having both wind and sun of us. As for inequality of numbers, you Sir, had ten troops, and the Prince had fourteen, but scarce half of them charged; as being sent to guard the town and Lane that led to it. Thus Sir, praying that by continuance in the same royal mind I left you, yourself may confute this supposed Vindication, I remain as ready, either to serve, or inform you, as I then was; for I hear you are yet living.  
FINIS.