An Exact and full RELATION OF THE LAST FIGHT, Between the KING'S Forces and Sir WILLIAM WALLER. Sent in a Letter from an Officer in the Army to his friend in London. Printed to prevent misinformation. LONDON Printed for Ben. Allen, in Popes-Head-Alley. July 5. 1644. AN EXACT AND FULL RELATION OF THE LAST FIGHT between the KING'S Forces and Sir WILLIAM WALLER. From Borton the place of our Rendezvous the 30th of June, 1644. WE have thought good to give you the best and truest Relation of our late passages, and God's providence towards us. After several days marching; on thursday night last about seven of the Clock we faced the King's body at Cropready bridge near Banbury, and all day, the next day, and yesterday till noon being Saturday, about ten of the clock in the forenoon we discovered their Army to be upon the march towards Daintry: and as some (who were since taken prisoners) affirm, their intent was from thence to York: Whereupon command was given to some particular persons to advance after them, and fall in their Rear: But it proved the middle of their whole body. According to the order, our Regiment of Horse and Colonel Vandrosses, advanced under the Command of Lieutenant General Middleton, and Captain Butler, Adjutant General, and four Companies of Farnbam foot, and five Companies of Sir Williams own Regiment, under the Command of Lieutenant Colonel Baines, (sometime a Brewer in London) Quartermaster General to the foot. They had placed a Guard to secure Cropready-bridge, which we readily beat off, and made the bridge our own by a party of Dragoons, and past over the River between us and Banbury, (for till than we were on the one side of the River, and they on the other) being over the River, through misinformation, we too speedily pursued the enemy, (being informed that their whole body was marched away, when as a third part of them were left behind unknown to us. We pursued them above a mile, till we came to a bridge, where their Foot made a stand, drew up and faced us; we being within Musket shot of them, only our four eldest Troops, (viz.) Sir Arthur's, Captain Okees; Captain Foleyes, and Captain Gardeners: They overthrew a Carriage to barricado the bridge, and planted it with Musketeers. This occasioned our Retreat back again, being unwilling too fare to engage ourselves, having no Foot within above half a mile of us, and discovering their Army behind us, upon our retreat we discovered the party of Foot (drawn over with us) by an unresistable body of the enemy's Horse, of some thirty Troops, and two regiments of Foot put to disorderly retreat, which hastened our march back again, and coming back we found the way to the bridge within a quarter of a mile, stopped with the enemy's Horse and Foot, who were got between our Foot and the bridge: For whose relief (although our way bacl lay on the right hand, we advanced up to their body on the left hand up the hill, and with our four Troops charged the Kings own Regiment, and put them to a retreat; but the other Troop commming down upon us, (there being of them in all some three Regiments) with whom we were in no case able to deal, we were necessitated to retreat very disorderly, having put their body of Horse into a combustion, having slain three Colonels, whereof one was Sir William Butler, a Papist of Kent, Lieutenant general of Horse (viz.) Wilmut was sore wounded, and his Lieutenant General taken prisoner, and committed to the custody of two Soldiers, who in our disorderly retreat lost him again: We slew divers other of their Officers both in our charge and in our retreat, the way being filled with their foot and horse, many whereof were wounded sorely, slew others, and took some prisoners. Coming back to the Bridge, the Hamblets very honourably and stoutly made good the Bridge, kept back the enemy, and recovered three pieces of our Ordnance, which we had lost; we having lost some half a dozen small pieces besides, which were unadvisedly drawn over before the Foot were ready to march along with them, and the men running a way with the horse, we could not draw them back again: being over th' bridge, we rallied together, and drew our body toward anoher place of the river, where the enemy made show of coming over, but we kept them on the other side; although we could not attain what we attempted, yet we hereby bravely caused them to draw back their whole body from their march onward toward Daintry, which must retard their journey to York. Having faced them several hours together, towards evening the King sent his trumpeter to our General, with a message to this effect, that if our General pleased, he would send a Herald of Arms, which at the head of our Army should proclaim a gracious Message. The answer from our General was returned thus, That he had no commission to treat with his Majesty concerning peace; but if he pleased to send to the two Houses of Parliament, we should remain his faithful subjects. In the time of our facing we exchanged several Cannon shot, as we conceive forty shot apiece, but through God's mercy, all their Cannon shot gave us but the loss of one horse, not one man; but our shot, the Lord so ordering it, caused them to draw bacl their body out of our reach, where they abode all night. We took in the fight two Horse Colours of theirs, and we lost three Foot Colours, we have lost Lieutenant Colonel Baines, who as we hear, would not take quarter, we have lost Col. Wembs, Colonel of our Artillery, and Lieutenant Colonel Baker, Lieutenant Colonel to Sir William's Regiment of foot. We have lost of ours, and taken prisoners near upon one hundred, or six score. Captain Okes has lost some ten men, whereof one Master Cresey it one: Captain Gardner hath lost near as many: Captain Foleys four, and three wounded, whereof one Thomas Steme, an apprentice formerly to Master Lloyd, who lived in Watling-street is one, being shot into the thigh, the thighbone broke, and run through both buttocks with a tuck: We this day sent him and another, one John Nicklis to Warwick, there to be carefully provided for. We have lost but one Officer in all our Regiment, praised be God, and that is Captain Perries' Cornet. It was an infinite mercy of God we had not been all lost, which we desire may be taken notice of, with solemn thanks to God almighty, who was our only helper: as also for the double good effect it wrought; viz. it drew their body back from marching toward York; and we relieved some six hundred horse that were coming to join with us, whom the enemy had faced above a quarter of an hour, coming from Northampton, who had not we take this course, in all probability they had been all cut off. We have taken a Major of the Kings own Regiment, his name is Webbe, he is mortally wounded, not likely to recover: Our Officers and Soldiers are very well, and very cheerful, willingly content to go on with the work, if we can but be supplied with bread and water, our lodging having for several nights been, and still is, on God's cold earth, over-shaddowed with the Canopy of heavens sweet Firmament, and God in much mercy hath afforded us sweet temperate weather; nothing hath been so short with us as Bread for men, the earth affording grass for our horses. We still continue facing one another, the River between us, we maintain Cropready-bridge, and hinder their passage over to us, waiting what they will do, and expecting further supplies, either from Col. Brown, Lord Grace, Colonel Murey, or the Earl of Denbigh, whom it pleases God to send. They have a far larger body of horse than we, but for foot we dare encounter, being no ways fearful to deal with their horse. We desire not to bury the mercies of God in oblivion, but to tell of his loving kindness, and desire that all our friends may be acquainted with his goodness to us in this delivery, that they may be the better stirred up, both in public and private to bless God, and rejoice with us. We desire your prayers for our good success, and that is the greatest comfort that under God we have, that we have a stock of prayers still going on among all God's people. His Majesty was under a tree in the field not above Pistolâ–ª shot where we charged his horse, as some of our own men, and some of their prisoners affirm. We have about 80. of theirs prisoners; there is now another Trumpeter come from his Majesty, but for what we know not, it is sure no parley, for our Cannon plays at them. My Capt. man, Henry Philip's the Barber is taken prisoner: my man Thomas Sugar charged with me, and came off, blessed be God, safe and well, and did good service. All our Officers and Soldiers in this business behaved themselves very stoutly. Lieutenant General Middleton, and Adjutant General Butler, charged with us very gallantly; Lieutenant General Middleton was accidentally dismounted, and one of Captain Okes his men dismounted, and mounted him on his horse, and after brought off the Lieutenant Generals own horse and pistols, for which the Lieutenant General hath made him a Captain Lieutenant, and he shall be his child so long as he lives. I fear the Post will be gone, I take leave, a thousand times farewell, the Lord preserve you and us all, which is the desire of thy truly loving Brother till death, Tho. Ellis. Postscript. THe Trumpeter from his Majesty, as I hear, brings this message: that the King will give our General leave to march away with his foot and horse, provided he will leave his Artillery and Ammunition behind him, but blessed be our God, we are not in that straight as yet; were we, we would rather choose to leave some of our blood to do him good. Several friends I know will send to see this Letter, therefore I pray thee bestow a dozen of points thereon, Vale. FINIS.