Keep Your Powder Dry

The last of the 'oooo, I've got space in my storage boxes, I'd better fill it' expansion  horsey men. I won't be missing death by brown paint for a while. Colonel Herbert Morley’s Regiment of Horse was a combined Regiment of Horse and Dragoons serving in Waller’s Southern Association, then as garrison of Arundel until  they were disbanded in 1653. Raised in Sussex in April 1643, the Regiment originally consisted of 80 horse and 100 dragoons. By the end of 1643 their strength rose to about 400 men in total. Combined horse and dragoon regiments appear to be a way of having two small regiments for the price of one: a combined regiment has one colonel (and just one colonel's pay to find). There are a number of examples of these dual regiments recorded, Morley's was not a 'one off'. There is some confusion as to their first engagements: they were ordered to join Essex's Army at Gloucester, along with the Regiments of Colonels Norton and Harvey, but wh...

 The big ticket item for Civil War aficionados in Northamptonshire has to be Naseby, and its impact upon Market Harborough and Daventry .  The fictional Arnescliffe * also lies within the County. So what else is there of interest in Northamptonshire? The town of Northampton was for Parliament: the castle was garrisoned, and the town's shoemakers diligently produced shoes and boots for Parliament's armies. So what's there now? In an act of peace and reconciliation Charles II had the entire town sleighted for its support against his father. What little of the town that survived was swept away by a fire that ravaged the town in 1670. So you'd imagine that there is nothing to see in Northampton whatsoever... you'd be wrong. What remained of Northampton Castle was completely flattened by the Victorians to make way for the railway. A single postern gate is all that remains, relocated and rebuilt into the walls to the east of Northampton station. Recent archaeological su...

What's this? More Horse? I hear my regular readers exclaim (hello all eight of you). I know I said that there would be no more Horse, but a reorganisation of 'the boxes' threw up some emptiness; fearful that such expanses of box wasteland would cause cataclysmic chaos theory consequences, I thought I'd better fill it. So one more Horse a side it is. So here, for your delectation, is Sir George Vaughan’s Regiment of Horse. Raised in Wiltshire. They fought at Lansdown; were probably at Roundway Down; stormed Bristol; the siege of Gloucester; First Newbury; possibly at the siege of Wardour Castle; were able to field two troops at Cheriton; Cropredy Bridge; Lostwithiel; Caradon Down; Second Newbury; before rounding the First Civil War off (and their existence) at the relief of Donnington Castle. Vaughan, himself, was wounded at Lansdown. he was captured at Hereford in 1645. As a result, he would be imprisoned at Southwark, and fined £2,609 for his "delinquency".  ...

The 'hostilities' bit of the Civil Wars pretty much passed the County of Norfolk by: not a great deal of fighting happened here. Norfolk's role was primarily as a recruiting ground, and bank roller of the Eastern Association.  That's not to say that 'nothing' happened here, or that the county was solely for Parliament's cause. Norwich's defences were bolstered, and a small garrison was established. Conesford, St Giles, Pockthorpe and St Augustine’s Gates were all blocked as part of these precautions. The gates have long been demolished but a number of markers exist documenting their locations. The best way to locate the walls, and gates is by downloading the walls trail leaflet here . Norwich Cathedral was damaged by an anti-Papist mob, and was later used as barracks.  Not all of Norfolk was for the Parliamentarian cause. In March 1643, Oliver Cromwell was sent to King's Lynn to investigate rumours of a Royalist conspiracy. These rumours were unfo...

Charles, Maurice, Rupert and Boye; protected by The King's Lifeguard (conjecturally equipped as cuirassiers) Due to the completion* of my Royalist Army, coupled with the need to see what a Regiment of Foot looked like at 1:1, my kitchen table was set up as a 'studio' .  So, here is the King's Army (Parliament's Army is identical). The army consists of the following: Regiments of Foot - 18 units, each 34 men strong Combined Shot - 3 units, each 24 men strong Regiments of Horse - 21 units, each 16 men strong (1 unit are cuirassiers) Regiments of Dragoons - 3 units, each 21 men strong Siege Engineers - 10 men Assault party - 6 men, and 4 petard teams Train of Artillery: demi-culverins  - 2, each consisting of a crew of 4 men and a limber Train of Artillery: sakers  - 3, each consisting of a crew of 4 men and a limber Train of Artillery: minions  - 6, each consisting of a crew of 4 men and a limber Baggage Train - 15 assorted pieces of baggage Command - 19 indivi...

The question arises, what did a Regiment of Foot actually look like? As wargamers we happily put a collection of thirty figures together and call it a 'regiment'. How many men were in a 'regiment' in real life?   I'll try and have a go... One of the problems that arises with the English Civil Wars/ British Civil Wars/ Wars of Three Kingdoms is the use of language and terminology. Many military terms start becoming more widespread in their use. We start coming across uniforms, regiments, companies, and battalia. From our standpoint in the 21st Century we have very specific views of what these terms mean; but in the 17th Century such terms, like spellings, had not been standardised. Throw into the mix large holes in our knowledge, due to a lack of records and documentation, and the best we can ever hope to achieve is a 'best guess'. With these caveats I set out on my quest. The London Trained Bands and their structure is probably our best data mine for evidenc...