of York, where he was besieged first by Fairfax and
Lord Leven (commanding a Scottish force), then by
Cromwell. The Royalist Prince ruPert relieved New-
castle but was forced to face the parliamentary forces
at Marston Moor (2 July 1644). Cromwell’s Ironsides
regiment of cavalry broke Rupert’s horsemen, forcing
his army to compensate at the left and center, which
were also broken. The Royalists left some 4,000 dead
and wounded on the field, and the Parliamentarians
won control of the north of England. In a letter to
his brother-in-law after his victory at Marston Moor,
Cromwell wrote, “Truly England and the Church of
God hath had a great favour from the Lord, in this great
victory given unto us, such as the like never was since
this war began. It had all the evidences of an absolute
victory obtained by the Lord’s blessing upon the Godly
Party principally. We never charged but we routed the
enemy. The Left Wing, which I commanded, being our
own horse, saving a few Scots in our rear, beat all of
the Prince’s horse. God made them as stubble to our
swords. We charged their regiments of foot with our
horse, and routed all as we charged. The particulars I
cannot relate now; but I believe, of twenty thousand
the Prince hath not four thousand left. Give glory, all
the glory, to God.”
Several mistakes by Lord Manchester led Cromwell
to believe the army should be reorganized under one
commander. As the army’s leaders, Fairfax and Cromwell
led Parliamentarian forces to victory at Naseby (14 June
1645), following which Cromwell wrote to the Speaker
of the House of Commons, Sir John Glanville: “Honest
men served you faithfully in this action... He that ven-
tures his life for the liberty of his country, I wish he trust
God for the liberty of his conscience, and you for the
liberty he fights for.” Appointed to the rank of lieutenant
general of the horse in the so-called New Model Army,
Cromwell succeeded in ending the Royalist threat in a
number of small battles, most notably at Exeter (9–13
April 1646) and Oxford (24 June 1646). The king sur-
rendered in May 1646, was handed over to Parliament
for trial, and, on 30 January 1649, was beheaded.
Cromwell also dealt with purges of dissent within
his ranks, crushing the Levellers, a radical element of the
New Model Army, and prosecuting their leader, John
Lilburne. He marched into Ireland and ferociously put
down two uprisings, one at Drogheda and another at
Wexford, writing after these slaughters: “I am persuaded
that this is a righteous judgment of God upon these bar-
barous wretches, who have imbrued their hands in so
much innocent blood.”
When Charles II, son of the executed king, made
his way to Edinburgh and proclaimed himself king of
England, Cromwell led a new army as lord general (since
Fairfax had resigned) and marched north. Initially he
could not get the Scottish commander, Sir David les-
lie, to meet him in open battle, so he retired to the city
of Dunbar. Here, on 3 September 1650, some 11,000
Parliamentary forces faced 22,000 Scottish Royalists.
Although Leslie’s forces were on a hill overlooking Dun-
bar, Cromwell’s troops marched to their right, surprising
them and forcing a massive withdrawal in which some
3,000 Scots were killed and 10,000 taken prisoner, while
Cromwell lost a total of 30 men. This was followed by
a similar victory over Charles II at Worcester on 3 Sep-
tember 1651. General George monck mopped up any
resistance to Cromwell’s reign, and the wars against him
were over.
Infuriated by criticisms against him in Parliament,
Cromwell dissolved it and replaced it with a group of
140 allies (ironically called “saints”). The Barebones Par-
liament, as it was called, first met in July 1653. When
Parliamentary leader John Bradshaw criticized Crom-
well for his dissolution of the Long Parliament, Brad-
shaw was dismissed. In December 1653, the Barebones
Parliament dissolved itself and named Cromwell lord
protector of England. An Instrument of Government
was drawn up, confirming Cromwell in his role as leader
of the government, with advice given by a Council of
State. He was installed as lord protector at Westminster
Hall on 16 December 1653.
Over the next five years, Cromwell ended the first
Anglo-Dutch War (1652–54) and initiated the Anglo-
Spanish War (1654–60). A Royalist uprising in March
1655—called Pedruddock’s Rising—led Cromwell to
institute military law over the nation. Like Charles I, he
found that he needed Parliament to finance military op-
erations, and a second Protectorate Parliament was called
in September 1656. The following February, this Parlia-
ment drew up a document called The Humble Petition
and Advice, in which they offered to have Cromwell
crowned as king of England. However, Cromwell refused,
telling the meeting, “I will not build Jericho again.” He
did accept another term as lord protector and agreed that
he could name those sitting in the House of Lords. When
his choices became controversial, members of Parliament
spoke out, and Cromwell dissolved the body on 4 Febru-cRomwell, oliveR