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English Civil War

@englishcivilwar.bsky.social

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English Civil War @englishcivilwar.bsky.social · Mar 1

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English Civil War @englishcivilwar.bsky.social · 8h

With Parliament’s Committee of Safety raised with the sole purpose of defending the country against the King, Charles felt he had no option but to call on his supporters to restore his authority, plunging the whole of the British Isles into civil war.

English Civil War @englishcivilwar.bsky.social · 8h

Despite the rush from both sides to gather troops and weapons, negotiations for a peaceful resolution continued, but the talks descended into a war of words that led nowhere.

English Civil War @englishcivilwar.bsky.social · 8h

At the same time John Pym helped Parliament to form a list of candidates to take up positions as Lord Lieutenants of the counties. Their job would be to recruit local militias for the defence of the regions.

English Civil War @englishcivilwar.bsky.social · 8h

After King Charles’s failed attempt to arrest five MPs in January 1642, he fled London and immediately began efforts to seize control of ports and arsenals across the country. Queen Henrietta Maria was also working for the Royalist cause, pawning Crown Jewels to raise money for arms.

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English Civil War @englishcivilwar.bsky.social · 8h

War Becomes Inevitable ⚔️

Although the raising of the royal standard in Nottingham in August 1642 is seen as the start of the English Civil Wars, preparations for conflict had begun several months earlier.

📷: Levitt Parkes

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English Civil War @englishcivilwar.bsky.social · 1d

📸: Nantwich Events Photography

#history #reenactment #battle #battlereenactment #17thcentury #englishcivilwar #britishcivilwar #warofthreekingdoms #militaryhistory #fogofwar #muskets #didyouknow #education

English Civil War @englishcivilwar.bsky.social · 1d

“the smoke of powder was so thick that we saw no light, but what proceeded from the mouth of guns.”

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English Civil War @englishcivilwar.bsky.social · 1d

This image of musket smoke obscuring the light of day is an often repeated depiction included in soldiers accounts. When Parliamentarian Captain W.H. in the Earl of Manchesters army wrote about his experience of Marston Moor he included the phrase:

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English Civil War @englishcivilwar.bsky.social · 1d

‘Twas the greatest storm that I ever saw, in which I thought I knew not wither to go, nor what to do, my horse had two or three musket bullets in him, which made him tremble under me at that rate”

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English Civil War @englishcivilwar.bsky.social · 1d

“The air was so darkened with smoke of powder that for a quarter of an hour together (I dare say), there was no light seen, but what the fire of the volleys gave: and…

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English Civil War @englishcivilwar.bsky.social · 1d

The chaos caused by the gunpowder smoke is often reflected in battlefield accounts. When Captain Richard Atkyns fought for the King at Lansdown in June 1643 the thing he recalls most in his accounts was the smoke. He writes:

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English Civil War @englishcivilwar.bsky.social · 1d

But what amplified this confusion was the battlefield smoke created by repeated musket volleys. As musketeers unleashed volley after volley they would cover the battlefield in smoke, obscuring all trying to fight.

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English Civil War @englishcivilwar.bsky.social · 1d

Battles during the Civil Wars were often chaotic affairs. As men clashed in close quarters combat they could often struggle to tell who was on their side. The lack of clear standardised uniforms caused battles to become confusing brawls as men sometimes had to fight those that were similarly dressed

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English Civil War @englishcivilwar.bsky.social · 1d

The fog of war 💨

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English Civil War @englishcivilwar.bsky.social · 2d

When some of our members met Hacker T Dog in Wigan yesterday, they knew what had to be done…

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English Civil War @englishcivilwar.bsky.social · 4d

📸: Ruth Lochrie

#history #reenactment #battle #battlereenactment #17thcentury #britishhistory #militaryhistory #winceby #battleofwinceby #englishcivilwar #britishcivilwar #warofthreekingdoms

English Civil War @englishcivilwar.bsky.social · 4d

By the end of the day about 300 Royalists had been slain and a further 800 were captured. In comparison the Parliamentarians only suffered twenty killed and a further eighty wounded. This defeat was one of the reasons the Earl of Newcastle would give up his siege of Hull.

English Civil War @englishcivilwar.bsky.social · 4d

This left them easy targets for the Parliamentarians when they caught up with this stuck group. This place would later be referred to as “slash hollow” to the high number of Royalists cut down at the gate.

English Civil War @englishcivilwar.bsky.social · 4d

But as they attempted to escape through Horncastle a large group of Royalists encountered a parish boundary gate. What they hadn’t realised was that it only opened if you pulled it. But the panicked Royalists packed against the gate and jammed it close.

English Civil War @englishcivilwar.bsky.social · 4d

With the Parliamentarian cavalry close behind the Royalists they could not afford to get trapped in the village.

English Civil War @englishcivilwar.bsky.social · 4d

This was what happened to the Royalists at the Battle of Winceby 11th October 1643. After failing to defeat the cavalry led by the Earl of Manchester and Oliver Cromwell the Royalist horse and dragoons led by Sir William Widdrington began retreating to Horncastle.

English Civil War @englishcivilwar.bsky.social · 4d

A panic could lead to even greater casualties if sections of an army turned the wrong corner into an area they could not escape easily from.

English Civil War @englishcivilwar.bsky.social · 4d

During a battle the majority of deaths would occur during the closing phase of the fighting, as one side retreats the field. If the defeated army did not retreat in good order it left their men vulnerable to attack from the pursuing victors.

English Civil War @englishcivilwar.bsky.social · 4d

⚔️🐴 Caught in the rout at Winceby🐴⚔️

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English Civil War @englishcivilwar.bsky.social · 5d

Soldiers could be executed, but only if they were found guilty of committing the most serious of crimes on campaign.