The account of the fight at Preston given by Sir Marmaduke Langdale does not materially differ from that of the Parliamentary leader, but he frankly admits that his forces were utterly beaten, his foot soldiers being totally lost. The inhabitants of the various districts in which these battles had taken place again suffered most acutely, so much so that the Mayor and Bailiffs of Wigan and several ministers in the county sent to London an appeal for immediate relief. This appeal refers to "the lamentable condition of the county of Lancaster, and particularly of the towns of Wigan, Ashton, and the parts adjacent," and sets forth that these districts had borne the heat and burden of both the wars "in an especial manner above other parts of the nation"; that the plague of pestilence had been raging for three years; that there was a scarcity of all provisions, grain the most in use being six times its usual price. All trade was utterly decayed, and it "would melt any good heart to see the numerous swarms of begging poore and the many families that pine away at home not having the faces to beg." Some of the poor, being on the point of starvation, had eaten carrion and other unwholesome food, "to the destroying of themselves and the increasing of the infection," the plague being entirely attributed to the "contagion from the wounded souldiers left there for cure." Liverpool also suffered much from the wars. In July, 1648, letters were received by Parliament from the Governor of Chester, representing the sad condition of that garrison, especially as to the convenience of the harbour and the revolt of the ships. The town itself was said to be but small, "and much decayed," by reason of the war and the loss of the Irish trade, and also by "the free quarter of the soldiers."[154] The plague, also, about this time appeared in Liverpool and Warrington. During the next month the Deputy-Lieutenants were ordered to keep some horse soldiers near Lancaster, as that town was considered of special importance from a military point of view. In the early part of 1649 the danger of further disturbance in the north appeared to have passed, and an order was given to demolish Clitheroe Castle and to disband the forces in the county; but as some of them refused to be broken up, Major-General Lambert was despatched with orders to disband them, by force if necessary. On January 30, 1649, the King was executed for high-treason, and the Commonwealth established, and thus the long struggle was brought to a close; but Lancashire had not yet seen the last of the Civil Wars; for in August, 1651, Charles II., the uncrowned son of the "martyr King," passed through the county on his way to Worcester; and, as was no doubt foreseen, this passage was not effected without a struggle with the strong Commonwealth party in the county.