“Whereas the Right Honourable Henry Marquis of Worcester hath by his care and expenses long saved the town and county of Monmouth from the hands of the enemies, and of late regained the said town from them; and in regard likewise that the towns of Monmouth and Chepstow are belonging to him of inheritance, and the interest he hath in the whole county, my desire is, that the Commander-in-chief of the said county and the Governors of both or each of those towns, or of any other garrison within the said county, should be complying with or observing any desires of his, intimated unto them: either concerning his Majesty’s service, the good of that county, or the particular safety and interest of him and his (whereof I am very tender). As also the High Sheriff, Commissioners of Array, Justices of the Peace, or other officers of the said county, martial or civil (as they tender my pleasure), and will answer the contrary at their perils. And for their so doing, the sight of these, or a copy hereof, attested by that Right Honourable Henry Marquis of Worcester, shall be their and either of their warrant. Given under my hand at Oxford, the 5th day of January, in the twentieth year of his Majesty’s reign. “RUPERT.”[G] The accounts we have of Lord Herbert’s military operations are extremely meagre; in a patent hereafter to be noticed, the sieges and battles at which he was present are briefly announced; with what courage and successful conduct he took Goodrich Castle, the Forest of Dean, and the city of Hereford; indeed with what remarkable good fortune, with what unhoped-for success, he made himself master of the strongly fortified town of Monmouth. The achievements, as thus recorded, are sufficiently high sounding, but no contemporary historian seems to have considered them of sufficient importance to put on record. Neither his own letters, nor those of his numerous family and connexions, neither political nor religious partizans nor opponents give us a glimpse of our general’s skill, bravery, and final successes; while the few particulars actually recorded leave but a faint impression as regards facts, and a most unfavourable one as regards results. In short, in his military capacity he bears a most mythical character. We have his own statement[H] that, through the means supplied by his father and himself, the Marquis of Hertford, after his defeat in the West, was supplied with recruits to attend his Majesty at Oxford, at a cost of £8000. They also raised Sir John Byron’s regiment of horse, at an expense of £5000. He further expressly alludes to having rendered his Majesty’s army considerable service before Edge-hill, by the men he furnished. And he was likewise at the charge, if not personally engaged in the reducing of Abergavenny and Carlyon to the service of the Crown.