Early in the year 1644 five Irish regiments were landed at Mostyn, on the north coast of Wales, to join the Royalist army, and probably that part of it under the command of Newcastle. They were unopposed as they marched through Wales, Chester, and a great portion of the county of Cheshire. But when they reached Nantwich, some seventeen miles to the south-east of Chester, they found it strongly garrisoned. They had not long laid siege to it, when Sir Thomas Fairfax, the son of Lord Fairfax, arrived with a superior force, and, after a stubborn battle of two hours, routed them. Thereupon nearly half of the Irish regiments “turned their coats” and joined the Parliamentary army under Sir Thomas Fairfax, who then, considerably strengthened in numbers, was free to join his forces with those of his father in Yorkshire. This made the position of Newcastle much more precarious. He must have written to the King asking for reinforcements, for Charles replied:—

(MS. Harl., 6988, art. 106. Orig. Entirely in the King’s hand.)

Meanwhile, general interest was concentrated on the war in the South. Essex and Waller, each with a large force, were endeavouring either to enclose the army of the King, or to besiege him in Oxford. Knowing his inferiority in numbers, Charles avoided a battle, and partly by manoeuvring, and partly owing to the mutual jealousy of Essex and Waller which prevented them from acting in concert, the King managed to escape them, after fighting one or two unimportant and indecisive actions. His position was now one of great jeopardy, and it was just then that he received the disheartening news of the defeat at Selby and Newcastle’s enforced retreat to York, with his request to be relieved of his command.

At York Newcastle soon found himself closely invested. Our female War Correspondent shall tell us what she knew about it.

“My Lord being now at York, and finding three Armies against him, viz. the Army of the Scots, the Army of the English that gave the defeat to the Governour of York, and an Army that was raised out of associate Counties,”—this is a little premature; as the army of the Associated Counties did not arrive for several weeks—“and but little Ammunition and Provision in the Town; was forced to send his Horse away to quarter in several Counties, viz. Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, for their subsistence, under the Conduct of his Lieutenant-General of the Horse, My dear Brother, Sir Charles Lucas, himself remaining at York, with his Foot and Train for the defence of that City.” Clarendon, however, says that Newcastle’s object in sending his Lieutenant-General of the Horse (Goring, of course), with a large body of cavalry, was “to remain in those places he should find most convenient, and from whence he might best infest the enemy.” In carrying out these instructions, Goring, at first, not only met with some success, but at the same time raised additional forces on his marches, and money also, as we learn from the following State Paper.[90]

“Proceedings at the Committee of both kingdoms.... To advertise the Earl of Manchester of the great damage done to cos. Leicester, Stafford and those parts, by the Earl of Newcastle’s horse, which, coming from York, have raised 1,000 horse, and £10,000.”

Lord Newcastle has “now about 3,000 horse and dragoons near Uttoxeter in Staffordshire, which we hear with 1,000 horse might have been wholly prevented. They still increase their force, raise much money, and ruin those that depend on protection from the Parliament.” Evidently Goring, to use an expression of the Duchess, “carved for himself” in the districts in which he was campaigning.

It was as much as Newcastle could do to withstand the siege of York. His biographer says:—

“The Enemy having closely besiedged the City on all sides, came to the very Gates thereof, and pull’d out the Earth at one end, as those in the City put it in at the other end; they planted their great Cannons against it, and threw in Granadoes at pleasure: But those in the City made several sallies upon them with good success. At last, the General of the associate Army of the Enemy, having closely beleaguer’d the North side of the Town, sprung a Mine under the wall of the Mannor-yard, and blew part of it up; and having beaten back the Town-Forces (although they behaved themselves very gallantly) enter’d the Mannor-house with a great number of their men, which as soon as my Lord perceived, he went away in all haste, even to the amazement of all that were by, not knowing what he intended to do; and drew 80 of his own Regiment of Foot, called the White-Coats, all stout and valiant Men, to that Post, who fought the Enemy with that courage, that within a little time they killed and took 1500 of them; and My Lord gave present order to make up the breach which they had made in the wall; Whereupon the Enemy remain’d without any other attempt in that kind, so long, till almost all provision for the support of the soldiery in the City was spent, which nevertheless was so well ordered by my Lords Prudence, that no Famine or great extremity of want ensued.”

No famine or great extremity, perhaps, for the moment. Nevertheless, Newcastle was becoming very anxious, and, at the least, foresaw both famine and great extremity facing him in the near future. Clarendon tells us that “he sent an express to the King to inform him of the condition he was in”; and to let him know “that he doubted not to defend himself in that post, for the term of six weeks or two months; in which time he hoped his Majesty would find some way to relieve him”. Newcastle was well aware that the King would know of his objection to having his army joined to that of Rupert, an objection proceeding from something near akin to jealousy; so, now that he was in a strait, and practically begging for Rupert’s help, since it was the only help available, he thought it wise to write to Charles “that he hoped his Majesty did believe that he would never make the least scruple to obey the grandchild of King James”.

Charles, in fact, had already sent Prince Rupert northwards with the relief of Newcastle as his ultimate object. Having marched for his quarters at Shrewsbury, Rupert had taken by surprise the strong Parliamentary forces that were investing Newcastle’s garrison at Newark-upon-Trent, in Nottinghamshire, and had compelled them to raise the siege. He had then marched westward and taken Stockport, Bolton, and Liverpool. The message from the King, ordering him to proceed at once to the relief of York, reached him when he had raised the siege of Latham House, which had been gallantly defended by the brave Lady Derby for more than four months.

Like Newcastle, Rupert had enemies at Court: like Newcastle again, he was anxious to be relieved of his command, and this just at the time when Newcastle was asking for his assistance. Once more, as in the case of Newcastle, Rupert’s rivals were urging the King to recall him.

Things were going badly with Newcastle. Whitelock says: “A battery was made at the Windmill-Hill at York, five pieces of ordnance planted, which shot into the town, and did much hurt. The Lord Eglinton, with four thousand Scots, entered some of the gates. A strong party sallying out of the city was beaten back with loss. General Leven with his regiment took a fort from the enemy, and in it 120 prisoners. The garrison burnt up much of the suburbs.”

According to Whitelock,[91] Newcastle made an attempt to leave York. “The Earl of Newcastle, Sir Thomas Widderington, and other chief commanders with a strong party sallied out of the town, endeavouring to escape, but were driven back into the city.” It is most unlikely that Newcastle was “endeavouring to escape” and to desert York in its extremity. The probability is that he was only making a sally upon the enemy’s forces.

Whitelock makes another statement. He says:[92] “The Earl of Newcastle desired a treaty, which was admitted, and he demanded to march away with bag and baggage, and arms, and drums beating, and colours flying, and that all within the town should have liberty of conscience, the Prebends to enjoy their places, to have Common Prayer, organs, surplice hoods, crosses, etc.”

It is almost incredible that in return he would have promised to take no farther part in the war. But even if he and his army were to continue to fight for the King, he would have been offering to surrender the highly important fortress of York. It is far more likely that he was endeavouring to delay the siege operations of the enemy by parleys and negotiations, while awaiting the arrival of Rupert.

His conditions, however, were “denied by the Parliament’s Generals; but they offered the Earl of Newcastle that he and all his commanders should go forth on horseback with their swords and the common soldiers with staves in their hands, and a month’s pay, and all else to be left behind them”.

This obviously meant the disarmament of the troops, which one would have expected Newcastle to have

instantly refused; but, says Whitelock, “the enemy desired four or five days to consider thereof which was granted,” and this, if true, has an ugly sound. But every day of armistice was of value to Newcastle, when a force was known to be coming to his relief, and he may have seized the opportunity for delay.

Besides the large Scottish army, and the troops under Lord Fairfax, Newcastle was to be besieged before long by the army that had been raised against the King in what were known as the Associated Counties, namely Essex, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedford and Huntingdon. This army had been placed under the command of the Earl of Manchester who, when Lord Kimbolton, had been impeached by Charles at the same time as the Five Members. His General of the Horse—or it might almost be said his second in command—was Oliver Cromwell.

Manchester was a rigid Presbyterian. Warwick says of him:—[93]

“The Earl of Manchester, formerly known by the name of Lord Kimbolton, was a gentleman of very good parts, and of very good education, both at home and abroad, and of a debonnaire nature, but very facile or changeable.... With all his good nature, or the facility of it, he did as much harm as the worst-natured man could have done. And therefore it was supposed, though he seemed the head, he was but the instrument of Mr. Cromwell, who made great ravage in all those associated counties on the King’s party.”

Cromwell’s character is too well known to need description here; but, as Warwick was with Newcastle, let us hear what he has to say about the most formidable enemy against whom Newcastle ever fought a battle.[94]

“I have no mind to give an ill character of Cromwell; for, in his conversation with me, he was ever friendly; though at the latter end ... he was sufficiently frigid. The first time that ever I took notice of him was in the beginning of the Parliament held in November, 1640, when I vainly thought myself a courtly young gentleman, (for we courtiers valued ourselves much upon our good clothes). I came one morning into the House well clad, and perceived a gentleman speaking (whom I knew not) very ordinarily apparelled; for it was a plain cloth suit, which seemed to have been made by a country tailor; his linen was very plain and not very clean ... his hat was without a band, his stature was a good size, his sword stuck close to his side, his countenance swollen and reddish, his voice sharp and untuneable.... Yet I lived to see this very gentleman, whom out of no ill-will I thus describe, by multiplied good successes, and by real (but usurped) power (having had a better tailor and more converse among good company) ... appear of a great and majestic deportment.”

“... Whilst I was about Huntingdon, visiting old Sir Oliver Cromwell, his uncle and godfather, at his house at Ramsey, he told me this story of his successful nephew and godson; that he visited him with a good strong party of horse, and that he asked him his blessing, and that, the few hours he was there, he would not keep on his hat in his presence; but, at the same time, he not only disarmed but plundered him; for he took away all his plate.” As we are aware, there was a royal precedent for robbing a host of his plate.

Among the State Papers, there are a good many dispatches from the Parliamentary army in the North at this (to Newcastle) very critical time. The first to be quoted tells us the strength of the force which Rupert was said to be taking to the relief of Newcastle.[95]

“Sir John Meldrum to the Earl of Denbigh.... Sir Thomas Fairfax and Major-General (David) Leslie are in full pursuit of Prince Rupert’s Army, deeply engaged in a country full of difficult passages for ordnance and carriages. Rupert’s forces are divided into two bodies, the Marquis of Newcastle’s horse, not exceeding 3,000 as I am credibly informed, and 100 foot, without ordnance, lying upon the frontiers of Yorkshire, betwixt Woodhead and Stopford; and the Prince himself with 4,000 horse and 7,000 foot, and 14 pieces of ordnance lying about Bolton and Bury, at a great distance from each other.”

From the following it would appear that Goring must have manoeuvred very skilfully to avoid being heavily outnumbered in a battle.[96]

“Selby. The Earl of Manchester to the Committee of both kingdoms ... I can assure you that I took all care to bring on an engagement with the Duke of Newcastle’s horse which came from York, but they would not stay within 20 or 30 miles of where my horse were. The time they employed in plundering about Leicester, most part of my horse were on this side Trent, unable to move by reason of the heavy rains. As soon as they had notice that Major-General Leslie and my horse were moving towards Nottingham, thinking to intercept them in their march northward, they marched in such hot haste toward Uttoxeter that they left great numbers of their horse dead on the highways, passing the Trent at Burton, and so got into Derbyshire. Sir Thos. Fairfax was sent with directions to engage Newcastle’s horse, we having intelligence that they were coming toward Sheffield and Rotherham, but as soon as our horse were within 7 or 8 miles of them, they presently marched into those parts of the country in which it would be very difficult to pursue them.”

Although Goring was not strong enough to engage his enemy at this time, he was doing good service by delaying the juncture of the army of the Associated Counties with the Scottish army before York. But a time came when he could delay that juncture no longer.[97]

“Sir Harry Vane, Junr., to the Committee of both kingdoms Leaguer before York.... It appears to me very evident that if Manchester had not brought up his foot to the siege the business would have been very dilatory, whereas the siege is now made very straight about the city, the Earl’s forces lying on the North side, where they have advanced very near the walls, and are busy in a mine of which we expect a speedy account, if by a treaty we be not prevented. The Scotch forces under Sir James Lumsdale’s (Lumsden’s) command united with those of Lord Fairfax, possess the suburbs at the East side, and are within pistol shot and less of Walmgate.”

In the later part of the same dispatch, Sir Harry Vane notices the “parley” mentioned by Whitelock. He only dwells upon a matter of etiquette, which turned upon the question whether Newcastle did not put Manchester’s name on the direction of a letter, through literal ignorance of his presence, or from a desire to ignore it.

“On the 9th inst., the Earl of Newcastle sent letters to the Earl of Leven and Lord Fairfax for a parley, not taking notice of the Earl of Manchester being there, but in that respect the treaty was refused and notice sent to Newcastle that unless he directed his letters to all three generals he could have no answer, whereupon letters were sent to all three Generals, and a civil excuse by the omission in regard, as he pretended, he did not know the Earl of Manchester in person had been there.” It is possible the mistake may have been intentional, with the object of again causing a delay.

In June, Newcastle was reported to have had a success of some sort, in which he was said to have lost his life.[98]

“Sir E. Nicholas to Sir Gervase Lucas. Oxford.... It is not believed at London that the Marquis of Newcastle is slain, but they confess the Marquis of Newcastle has given the Scots a good blow.” Possibly this may refer to the occasion on which the Duchess says that her husband “killed and took 1500” of the enemy.