The History of England from the First Invasion by the Romans to the Accession of King George the Fi | Page 7

for this fatal imprudence, the royalists would probably have
gained a decisive victory.
During his absence the main bodies of infantry were engaged under
their respective leaders, the earls of Lindsey and Essex, both of whom,
dismounting, led their men into action on foot. The cool and
determined courage of the Roundheads undeceived and disconcerted
the Cavaliers. The royal horse on the left, a weak body under lord
Wilmot, had sought protection behind a regiment of pikemen; and Sir
William Balfour, the parliamentary commander, leaving a few
squadrons to keep them at bay, wheeled round on the flank of the royal
infantry, broke through two divisions, and made himself master of a
battery of cannon. In another part of the field the king's guards, with his

standard, bore down every corps that opposed them, till Essex ordered
two regiments of infantry and a squadron of horse to charge them in
front and flank, whilst Balfour, abandoning the guns which he had
taken, burst on them from the rear. They now broke; Sir Edward Varner
was slain, and the standard which he bore was taken; the earl of
Lindsey received a mortal wound; and his son, the lord Willoughby,
was made prisoner in the attempt to rescue his father[1]. Charles, who,
attended by his troop of pensioners, watched the fortune of the field,
beheld with dismay the slaughter of his guards;
[Footnote 1: The standard was nevertheless recovered by the daring or
the address of a Captain Smith, whom the king made a banneret in the
field.]
and ordering the reserve to advance, placed himself at their head; but at
the moment Rupert and the cavalry reappeared; and, though they had
withdrawn from Keynton to avoid, the approach of Hampden with the
rear of the parliamentary army, their presence restored the hopes of the
royalists and damped the ardour of their opponents. A breathing-time
succeeded; the firing ceased on both sides, and the adverse armies
stood gazing at each other till the darkness induced them to
withdraw,--the royalists to their first position on the hills, and the
parliamentarians to the village of Keynton. From the conflicting
statements of the parties, it is impossible to estimate their respective
losses. Most writers make the number of the slain to amount to five
thousand; but the clergyman of the place, who superintended the burial
of the dead, reduces it to about one thousand two hundred men.[1]
Both armies claimed the honour, neither reaped the benefit, of victory.
Essex, leaving the king to pursue his march, withdrew to Warwick, and
thence to Coventry; Charles, having compelled the garrison[a] of
Banbury to surrender, turned aside to the city of Oxford. Each
commander wished for leisure to
[Footnote 1: This is the most consistent account of the battle, which I
can form out of the numerous narratives in Clarendon, May, Ludlow,
Heath, &c. Lord Wharton, to silence the alarm in London, on his arrival
from the army, assured the two houses that the loss did not exceed three

hundred men.--Journ. v. 423. The prince of Wales, about twelve years
old, who was on horseback in a field under the care of Sir John Hinton,
had a narrow escape, "One of the troopers observing you," says Hinton,
"came in fall career towards your highness. I received his charge, and,
having spent a pistol or two on each other, I dismounted him in the
closing, but being armed cap-a-pie I could do no execution on him with
my sword: at which instant one Mr. Matthews, a gentleman pensioner,
rides in, and with a pole-axe decides the business."--MS. in my
possession.]
[Sidenote a: A.D. 1642. Oct. 27.]
reorganize his army after the late battle. The two houses, though they
assumed the laurels of victory, felt alarm at the proximity of the
royalists, and at occasional visits from parties of cavalry. They ordered
Essex to come to their protection; they[a] wrote for assistance from
Scotland; they formed a new army under the earl of Warwick; they
voted an address to the king; they even submitted to his refusal of
receiving as one of their deputies Sir John Evelyn, whom he had
previously pronounced a traitor.[1] In the meanwhile the royal army,
leaving Oxford, loitered-for what reason is unknown-in the vicinity of
Reading, and permitted Essex to march without molestation by the
more eastern road to the capital. Kingston, Acton, and Windsor were
already garrisoned[b] for the parliament; and the only open passage to
London lay through the town of Brentford. Charles had reached
Colnbrook in this direction, when he was[c] met by the commissioners,
who prevailed on him to suspend his march. The conference lasted two
days; on the second of which Essex threw a brigade,[d] consisting of
three of his best regiments, into that town. Charles felt indignant at this
proceeding. It