Cassell's History of England, Vol. 3 (of 8): From the Great Rebellion to the Fall of Marlborough.Anonymous
History
Cassell's History of England, Vol. 3 (of 8): From the Great Rebellion to the Fall of Marlborough.
Anonymous
Great Britain -- History
The fate of the Scottish army decided that of Goring at Colchester.
There was nothing further to stand out for; he surrendered at
discretion, and was sent to prison to await the award of Parliament,
with Lord Capel, and Hastings, the brother of the Earl of Huntingdon.
But two of his officers, Sir George Lisle and Sir Charles Lucas--the
brother of Lord Lucas, and heir to his title and estates--were shot.
All sides were growing savage. These two officers fell bravely and
deserved a better fate. Lucas, tearing open his doublet, cried, "Fire,
rebels!" and instantly fell. Lisle ran to him, kissed his dead body,
and then turning to the soldiers, told them to come nearer. One of them
said, "I'll warrant you we shall hit you." He replied, "Friends, I have
been nearer, when you have missed me." The death of these noble fellows
sullied the fair reputation of Fairfax, who afterwards deeply regretted
it.
On the revolt of the ships at Deal, under the command of Rainsborough,
whom they left ashore, the Parliament appointed the Earl of Warwick,
the brother of the Earl of Holland, but more in the confidence of
the Reformers, Lord Admiral of the Fleet, and sent him to oppose the
insurgent fleet. No sooner was it heard in Paris that the English ships
had sailed for Holland, and called on the Duke of York to command them,
than it was thought highly expedient that the Prince of Wales should
hasten thither himself and take the command. Accordingly, he travelled
in all haste to the Hague, accompanied by Prince Rupert, and the Lords
Hopton and Colepepper. The prince was received with acclamations by
the fleet at Helvoetsluys, and with other vessels, making altogether
nineteen, he sailed to the coast of England. It was thought by that
party that it was best to sail along the English coast, showing their
strength for some time, and then to proceed to the mouth of the Thames.
At that time the insurrection in Kent was proceeding under Hales,
L'Estrange, and the Earl of Norwich, which Fairfax soon dealt with
at Maidstone; but whilst it was in force the prince might have made
a safe descent on the Isle of Wight, and attempted the rescue of his
father. The castle of Carisbrooke was not strong, and there were few
forces besides its garrison in the island; but though Charles anxiously
expected the fleet, and sent repeated messages, no attention was paid
to them. For nearly a month the prince had the full command of the
coast. Fairfax was engaged with the insurgents at Colchester, and the
rest of the army was occupied in Wales, and in waiting for the approach
of the invasion from Scotland; yet the heir-apparent made no movement
for the rescue of his father, which everyone would have thought would
have been the first thing with him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account