Keep Your Powder Dry

The latest five minutes of the spotlight falls upon the Earl of Manchester's Regiment of Horse; coincidentally, this is the 300th post. Which surprises me as I never thought I'd be able to blather on this much. A little celebratory sherry might be in order. The Regiment was large, they were able to field 11 troops at Marston Moor, and as a result,  they had an additional Colonel. The Regiment's troops had cornets with different coloured fields: Manchester's cornet had a green field; Colonel Algernon Sidney's cornet had a blue field; Captain Robert Sparrow's had a red field; Captain William Dingley's cornet also had a red field; Captain Thomas Hammond's cornet  had a blue field; and Captain Valentine Walton's cornet also had a red field. Sidney was the commander of the Regiment in the field; he was seriously wounded at Marston Moor, and relinquished command when the Regiment joined the New Model Army. The Regiment would be known as Colonel...

The next five minute's of fame spotlight falls upon George Dodding's Regiment of Horse. This short lived regiment probably only numbered two troops, as Dodding only claimed pay as a Captain of Horse (he also claimed pay as a Colonel of Foot ).  What troops they had, appear to have been hastily assembled - Captain Cripps' troop was mustered two days before Marston Moor, and numbered just 50 men. The Regiment fought at Lathom House; Marston Moor; a skirmish at Ribble Bridge; a skirmish at Witten Cop; Ormskirk; and the siege of Greenhalgh Castle. If you enjoyed reading this, or any of the other posts, please consider  supporting  the blog.  Thanks .

 After what seems like a very long break from painting I return to my last, currently planned*, Regiment of Foot. So without further ado, let me introduce the White Regiment of Foot of the London Trained Bands. The second most senior regiment in the LTB, they were recruited from north of the City: Cornhill, Lombard Street, Fenchurch Street, and upper Gracechurch Street. An area of London populated by goldsmiths, financiers and wealthy merchants.  Their colonel, Alderman Isaac Penington had been elected as a sheriff of London in 1638, and would be appointed Lord Mayor when Parliament removed the Royalist Sir Richard Gurney from office in August 1642. In 1649 Penington would be made a commissioner of the High Court of Justice and attended the King's trial: he did not sign Charles's death warrant. He would surrender at the Restoration, hoping for leniency as he hadn't been a signatory of the death warrant. His lands were confiscated and he would spend the rest of h...

The latest batch of completed units who appeared very briefly on the blog, now get their full five minutes in the spotlight. Kicking us off is Colonel Francis Russell's Regiment of Horse. Originally raised as a troop for Essex's Regiment of Horse in 1643, they became a regiment in their own right in 1644. The troop fought, not surprisingly, in Essex's Army. When they became a Regiment in their own right they transferred to the Eastern Association before joining the New Model Army in 1645. As Russell's they fought at the siege of Newark; Cotes Bridge; Newark; the siege of York; Marston Moor: the siege of Banbury Castle; and Melton Mowbray. In April 1645, they entered the New Model Army as Colonel Charles Fleetwood’s Regiment of Horse (Fleetwood had taken command in March 1644). Russell, had been Governor of Lichfield, until he surrendered the town to Prince Rupert in 1643; he would then be appointed governor of the islands of Jersey and Guernsey. His daughter married Cr...