At the day appointed the King dispatched a party of horse, and by surprise took them all prisoners (except Dalbier, who made his escape) and brought them all prisoners to Leskeard, where soon after Prince Rupert arrived at the King’s army, which gave great hopes of a notable victory over Essex; and, in order to give him battle, the King soon after drew forth his army from Leskeard, and marched west to Bradock Downs in this parish, opposite to St. Winnow and Boconnock Downs, where Essex lay encamped, on the east side of Lestwithell town, and there pitched his camp and standard, he himself, Prince Rupert, and Grenville quartering at the Lord Mohun’s house; from whence he sent a letter August 16th, as he had sent another before from Leskeard by the Lord Beauchamp’s nephew, to Essex, for a treaty of peace, to which he received no answer; then he sent another letter to him in the name of the officers of his army, to which Essex sent a negative answer directed to the Earl of Forth, purporting that he had received a letter from his lordship, and other commanders of the King’s army, by which a treaty with him was desired for a general peace, which he could not admit of without a breach of the trust reposed in him by the Parliament, having no power by his commission to treat in a matter of such importance. Whereupon happened several skirmishes between the cavaliers and parliament troops; and in particular that challenge and sharp charge between Colonel Straughan’s for the Parliament and Colonel Digby’s for the King, was most remarkable. Straughan’s troop consisted of a hundred young men from sixteen to twenty years of age, on whose faces, as was said, never razor had past in order to shave their beards, all double, if not treble armed for this encounter. This troop of Straughan’s was led forth by himself on Bradock and St. Winnow Downs, having nothing on his head but a hat, and on the trunk of his body nought but a white linen shift, where they braved it for some time as was said before, giving defiance to a like number of the King’s party in sight of the King and both armies; whereupon soon after dislodged the Lord Digby’s troop for the King, to accept and fight this challenge of Straughan’s, who with great resolution and bravery advanced towards him, and gave the first onset or charge, but firing their pistols at too great distance, it did little harm to his adversary, whilst instantly Straughan, like a firebrand of hell, with a led horse by his side, had before commanded his boys, as he called them, to take their adversary’s fire, which they then did with unspeakable hardiness, and rushed on to the very horse heads of Digby’s troopers, that before had spent their shot, himself leading the fore front to the very points of their swords, when he discharged his double-barrelled pistols, and was in like manner seconded by his troopers, who had all the same sort of pistols, and most of them laden