Author: Andrew Watson, Earl of Northampton's Regiment of Foot

Orders of the day, Volume 33, Issue 3, 2001

After the execution of Charles I on 30th January 1649 the Royalist cause then turned to his son, the young Prince Charles who had fled to France.

The choices open to Prince Charles on how to overthrow the ‘Free Commonwealth’ were either to rely on foreign help with the best hope of support being his brother-in-law William II of Holland, however he died of smallpox. Other monarchs expressed sympathy for his plight, but their aid went no further than offering small sums of money. Alternatively Charles could invade from either Ireland of from Scotland. The Royalists living in England were closely watched by the County Committees and Charles supposed that they would rally to an invading Royalist army. He decided on Scotland where the Covenanters, angry with the English Parliament for executing a Scottish monarch, had proclaimed him as King Charles II on 5th February 1649; on 1st January 1651 Charles was crowned at Scone.

Charles revived Scottish royalism and melded it with that of English sympathisers in the north of England which suffered problems as some English had no sympathy with the Scots. Charles eventually marched south, intent on raising his standard at Shrewsbury. However, finding the town closed to him, he carried on to Worcester, arriving on 23rd August 1651. The Mayor welcomed Charles, declaring him King of Great Britain, France and Ireland. Charles knighted the Mayor and issued a proclamation stating that all men aged between 16-60 should rally to his cause. Few did.

Cromwell, who had more than 28,000 men at his disposal when he caught up with Charles at Worcester, made his headquarters at Spetchley Park. Charles' army is estimated to number somewhere between 12-16,000. To prevent being attacked on two fronts, the Royalists demolished the bridge across the Severn at Upton. Cromwell however, leaving nothing to chance, had assembled a great deal of bridging material, the basis of which was "twenty great boats".

Very early in the morning of 3rd September Lieutenant-General Fleetwood set out with the boats from Upton, but struggling upstream it was after midday before he reached the River Teme. Both the Teme and the Severn were to be bridged within pistol shot of each other. The overall plan was for General Deane to force the well-defended crossing of Powick Bridge whilst Fleetwood used the pontoon. When Cromwell saw how determined the Royalist resistance was he personally led three brigades of reinforcements across the pontoon bridge to overwhelm the Royalists, but this seriously weakened his right flank.

King Charles, watching from the tower of Worcester Cathedral, saw his chance and raced down the tower steps. He rallied his forces and launched a fierce double attack on the Parliamentary positions at Red Hill and Perry Wood. Both were successful, and by the time Cromwell rushed back over his pontoon his right flank was on the brink of defeat. All Charles needed now was for Leslie to fall on with his cavalry and the day would be his. Leslie though refused to move from the safety of Worcester's defences and the moment was lost. Short of powder and shot and with the Duke of Hamilton shot in the leg, the Royalists retreated back into Worcester.

Cromwell's guns now played heavily on the city walls until all but one of the gates were in Parliamentary hands. Sir Alexander Forbes refused to surrender Fort Royal so the Essex Militia took it by storm, then turned the guns on the city. On Castle Mound Sir William Hammond, Colonel Drummond and Lord Rothes also refused to surrender, and put up such determined resistance that in the end Cromwell himself offered them terms. Some Royalists however were not so brave: Dalziell's brigade surrendered without firing a shot, while Leslie was still inactive and could only stare at the carnage "as one amazed and bereft of his senses". As darkness fell, the battle turned into a vicious street fight, the Royalists caught like rats in a trap. Completely defeated, Charles returned to his lodgings at Rowland Berkeley's house and disappeared through the back door as Parliamentarian troops were coming through the front door. A witness was later to say, "What became of His Majesty I know not, but God preserve him for certainly a more gallant prince was never born".

Afterwards Cromwell's Chaplain Hugh Peter addressed the weary Parliamentarian foot soldiers saying, "When your wives and children shall ask where have you been, and what news: say you have been at Worcester, where England's sorrows began and where they are happily ended".