was a Protestant, but he tried to bolster up his chances
by claiming that his parents had actually been married
in secret. He landed at Lyme Regis [Dorset], declared
his Uncle James to be a usurper, claimed the throne, and
gathered an army of about 4,000. In Taunton he was
actually proclaimed king, taking the title of James II,
loftily disregarding the properly crowned James II. In
an odd way, therefore, for a few weeks England had two
James IIs.”
Monmouth’s “rebellion” lasted but a few weeks: The
proper James II launched his army against Monmouth,
and on 5 July 1685 at Sedgemoor, in Somerset, the
entire insurrection came to an abrupt end when some
2,500 Royalist forces under the earl of Faversham took
on Monmouth’s army of approximately 3,700 troops.
Historian George Bruce writes: “Monmouth attempted
a night attack on Faversham’s camp, but the alarm was
given and the Royal troops, falling upon their assailants,
put Monmouth’s cavalry to flight, and though his infan-
try made a sturdy resistance they were at length over-
powered and routed with heavy loss.” Sedgemoor was to
be the last battle on English soil.
Monmouth fled from the defeat but was captured
days later in a ditch in Dorsetshire while trying to get
out of England. Taken back to London, he was quickly
found guilty of crimes against the crown. Many of his
followers were tried before Lord Jeffreys, and 320 were
executed. Although he offered his uncle James his own
submission and a change of his religion to Roman
Catholic, Monmouth’s entreaties were turned down,
and he was beheaded on 15 July 1685 at the age of
- Ironically, because he was of royal blood, his
official portrait needed to be painted; in order to do
this, his severed head was sewn back onto his body,
and a likeness was done. His uncle, James II, was later
forced into exile in France when William and Mary of
Orange took the throne in the Glorious Revolution of
References: Watson, J. N. P., Captain-General and Rebel
Chief: The Life of James, Duke of Monmouth (London:
Allen & Unwin, 1979); An Historical Account of the He-
roick Life and Magnanimous Actions of the Most Illustrious
Prince, James Duke of Monmouth... (London: Printed for
Thomas Malthus, 1683); Roberts, George, The Life, Pro-
gresses, and Rebellion of James, Duke of Monmouth, to his
Capture and Execution: with a Full Account of the Bloody
Assize, and Copious Biographical Notices, 2 vols. (London:
Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, 1844); Hilliam,
David, “James II,” in Kings, Queens, Bones and Bastards:
Who’s Who in the English Monarchy from Egbert to Eliza-
beth II (Thropp, Stroud, U.K.: Sutton Publishing, 2000),
83–86; Laffin, John, “Sedgemoor,” in Brassey’s Battles:
3,500 Years of Conflict, Campaigns and Wars from A–Z
(London: Brassey’s Defence Publishers, 1986), 383–384;
Bruce, George, “Sedgemoor,” in Collins Dictionary of Wars
(Glasgow, Scotland: HarperCollins Publishers, 1995),
224; An Account of the Defeat of the Rebels in England and
also the taking of the late Duke of Monmouth, the late Lord
Gray, &c (London: Printed by Thomas Newcomb, 1685);
A Faithful and Impartial Account of the Proceedings in the
Case of James, Duke of Monmouth (London: Printed for J.
Hayther, 1682).Montagu, Edward, second earl of Manchester
(Edward Montague, Viscount Mandeville) (1602–
1671) English general
Born in 1602, Edward Montagu (some historians
list his name as Montague) was the son of Henry
Montagu, later the first earl of Manchester, and was edu-
cated at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. He served as
a member of Parliament for Huntingdon in the House
of Commons, and in 1626, when his father was styled
as the earl of Manchester, he took the courtesy title
of Viscount Mandeville while still in the House of
Commons.
With the outbreak of war between Parliament and
King Charles I in 1642, Montagu—who succeeded his
father as earl of Manchester the same year—was given
the command of a regiment of foot, serving under Rob-
ert Devereux, earl of essex. One work that mentions
his service during the early part of the conflict claims
that Montagu was captured and taken back to London,
although no other biographical item on him mentions
this. In August 1643, he was promoted to the rank of
major general and named as commander of forces in
the eastern counties of England. In this capacity, he
took control of Lincolnshire when he won the battle of
Winceby (11 October 1643) and captured the city of
Lincoln (6 May 1644). Once this area was under Par-
liamentian control, he and his forces besieged the city
of York and participated in the battle at Marston Moor
(2 July 1644), when his forces backed up those of Oli-
ver cromWell. Montagu clashed with Cromwell over
military strategy and national policy, and when he wasmontAgu, eDwARD, SeconD eARl oF mAncheSteR