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ten miles from the Moor we were in; and there we conceived we might face about, having the command of a Town, a River, and a Bridge. Yet I conceive there were but few of us could have foreseen we might be beaten, before we were masters of any of them.

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'It was towards evening, and in the latter end of August,' Friday, 18th of the month, when our horse began to march. Some regiments of them were left with the rear of the foot: Middleton stayed with these; my Lord Duke and Calendar were before. As I marched with the last brigade of foot through the Town of Wigan, I was alarmed, That our horse behind me were beaten, and running several ways, and that the enemy was in my rear. I faced about with that brigade; and in the Market-place, serried the pikes together, shoulder to shoulder, to entertain any that might charge: and sent orders to the rest of the brigades before, To continue their march, and follow Lieutenant-General Baillie who was before them. It was then night, but the moon shone bright. A regiment of horse of our own appeared first, riding very disorderly. I got them to stop, till I commanded my pikes to open, and give way for them to ride or run away, since they would not stay. But now my pikemen, being demented (as I think we were all), would not hear me: and two of them ran full tilt at me,'-poor Dalgetty! One of their pikes, which was intended for my belly, I griped with my left hand; the other ran me nearly two inches into the inner side of my right thigh; all of them crying, of me and those horse, "They are Cromwell's men!" This was an unseasonable wound; for it made me, after chat night, unserviceable. This made me forget all rules of modesty, prudence, and discretion,'-my choler being up, and my blood flowing! 'I rode to the horse, and desired them to charge through these foot. They fearing the hazard of the pikes, stood : I then made a cry come from behind them, That the enemy was upon them. This encouraged them to charge my foot, so fiercely that the pikemen threw down their pikes, and got into houses. All the horse galloped away, and as I was told afterwards, rode not through but over our whole foot; treading them down ;-and in this confusion Colonel Lockhart was trod down from his horse with great danger of his life.

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Though the Enemy was near, yet I beat drums to gather my men together. Shortly after came Middleton with some horse. I told him what a disaster I had met with, and what a greater I expected. He told me he would ride before, and make the horse halt. I marched however all that night till it was fair day; and then Baillie, who had rested a little, entreated me to go into some house and repose on a chair; for I had slept none in two nights, and eaten as little. I alighted; but the constant alarms of the Enemy's approach made me resolve to ride forward to Warrington, which was but a mile; and indeed I may say I slept all that way, notwithstanding my wound.'

While the wounded Dalgetty rides forward, let us borrow an other glimpse from a different source;* of bitter struggle still going on a little to the rear of him. 'At a place called Redbank,' near Winwick Church, two miles from Warrington, 'the Scots made a stand with a body of pikes, and lined the hedges with muskets; who so rudely entertained the pursuing Enemy, that they were compelled to stop until the coming up of Colonel Pride's regiment of foot, who after a sharp dispute put those same brave fellows to the run. They were commanded by a little spark in a blue bonnet, who performed the part of an excellent commander, and was killed on the spot.' Does any one know this little spark in the blue bonnet? No one. His very mother has long ceased to weep for him now. Let him have burial, and a passing sigh from us!-Dugald Turner continues:

'I expected to have found either the Duke or Calendar, or both of them, at Warrington: but I did not: and indeed I have often been told that Calendar carried away the Duke with him, much against his mind. Here did the Lieutenant-General of the foot meet with an Order, whereby he is required "To make as good conditions for himself and those under him as he could; for the horse would not come back to him, being resolved to preserve themselves for a better time." Baillie was surprised with this and looking upon that action which he was ordered to do, as full of dishonor, he lost much of that patience of which naturally he was master; and beseeched any that would to shoot him through the head,'-poor Baillie! At length having something

*Heath's Chronicle, p. 323.

composed himself, and being much solicited by the officers that were by him, he wrote to Cromwell. I then told him, That so long as there was a resolution to fight, I would not go a foot from him; but now that they were to deliver themselves prisoners, I would preserve my liberty as long as I could: and so took my leave of him, carrying my wounded thigh away with me. I met immediately with Middleton; who sadly condoled the irrecoverable losses of the last two days. Within two hours after, Baillie and all the officers and soldiers that were left of the foot were Cromwell's prisoners. I got my wound dressed that morning by my own surgeon; and took from him those things I thought necessary for me; not knowing when I might see him again ;— as indeed I never saw him after.**

This was now the Saturday morning when Turner rode away, 'carrying his wounded thigh with him;' and got up to Hamilton and the vanguard of horse; who rode, aimless or as good as aimless henceforth, till he and they were captured at Uttoxeter, or in the neighborhood. Monro with the rearguard of horse, 'always a day's march behind,' hearing now what had befallen, instantly drew bridle; paused uncertain; then, in a marauding manner, rode back towards their own country.

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Of which disastrous doings let us now read Cromwell's victorious account drawn up with more deliberation on the morrow after. This Gentleman,' who brings up the Letter, is Major Berry; once a Clerk in the Shropshire Iron-works;' now a very rising man. 'He had lived with me,' says Richard Baxter, 'as guest in my own house;' he has now high destinies before him, —which at last sink lower than ever.†

To the Honorable William Lenthall, Esquire, Speaker of the House of Commons: These.

SIR,

'Warrington,' 20th August, 1648.

I have sent up this Gentleman to give you an account of the great and good hand of God towards you, in the late victory obtained against the Enemy in these parts.

* Memoirs of his own Life and Times, by Sir James Turner (Edinburgh, 1829), pp. 63-7.

Baxter's Life, pp. 57, 97, 58, 72.

After the conjunction of that Party which I brought with me out of Wales with the Northern Forces about Knaresborough and Wetherby,hearing that the Enemy was advanced with their Army into Lancashire, we marched the next day, being the 13th of this instant August, to Otley (having cast off our Train, and sent it to Knaresborough, because of the difficulty of marching therewith through Craven, and to the end we might with more expedition attend the Enemy's motion): and on the 14th to Skipton; the 15th to Gisburne; the 16th to Hodder Bridge over Ribble; where we held a council of war. At which we had in consideration, Whether we should march to Whalley that night, and so on, te interpose between the Enemy and his further progress into Lancashire and so southward,-which we had some advertisement the Enemy intended, and 'we are' since confirmed that they intended for London itself: Or whether to march immediately over the said Bridge, there being no other betwixt that and Preston, and there engage the Enemy, -who we did believe would stand his ground, because we had information that the Irish Forces under Monro lately come out of Ireland, which consisted of twelve hundred horse and fifteen hundred foot, were on their march towards Lancashire to join them.

It was thought that to engage the Enemy to fight was our business; and the reason aforesaid giving us hopes that our marching on the North side of Ribble would effect it, it was resolved we should march over the Bridge, which accordingly we did; and that night quartered the whole Army in the field by Stoneyhurst Hall, being Mr. Sherburn's house, a place nine miles distant from Preston. Very early the next morning we marched towards Preston: having intelligence that the Enemy was drawing together thereabouts from all his out-quarters, we drew out a Forlorn of about two hundred horse and four hundred foot, the horse commanded by Major Smithson, the foot by Major Pownel. Our Forlorn of horse marched, within a mile, 'to' where the Enemy was drawn up,-in the inclosed grounds by Preston, on that side next us; and there, upon a Moor, about half a mile distant from the Enemy's Army, met their Scouts and Outguard; and did behave themselves with that valor and courage as made their guards (which consisted both of horse and foot) to quit their ground; and took divers prisoners; holding this dispute with

* Over Hodder rather, which is the chief tributary of the Ribble in those upland parts, and little inferior to the main stream in size. Ribble from the Northeast, Hodder from the North, then a few miles farther, Calder from the South; after which Ribble pursues its old direction; draining an extensive hill-tract by means of frequent inconsiderable brooks, and receiving no notable stream on either side till, far down, the Darwen from the East and South falls in near Preston, and the united waters, now a respectable River, ish swiftly into the Irish Sea.

them until our Forlorn of foot came up for their justification; and by these we had opportunity to bring up our whole Army.

So soon as our foot and horse were come up, we resolved that night to engage them if we could; and therefore advancing with our Forlorn, and putting the rest of our Army into as good a posture as the ground would bear (which was totally inconvenient for our horse, being all enclosure and miry ground), we pressed upon them. The regiments of foot were ordered as followeth. There being a Lane, very deep and 11, up to the Enemy's Army, and leading to the Town, we commanded two regiments of horse, the first whereof was Colonel Harrison's and next was my own, to charge up that Lane; and on either side of them advanced the 'Main' battle,-which were Lieutenant-Colonel Read's, Colonel Dean's and Colonel Pride's on the right; Colonel Bright's and my Lord General's on the left; and Colonel Ashton with the Lancashire regiments in reserve. We ordered Colonel Thornhaugh's and Colonel Twistleton's regiments of horse on the right; and one regiment in reserve for the Lane; and the remaining horse on the left:-so that, at last, we came to a Hedge-dispute; the greatest of the impression from the Enemy being upon our left wing, and upon the 'Main'-battle on both sides the Lane, and upon our horse in the Lane: in all which places the Enemy were forced from their ground, after four hours dispute ;—until we came to the Town: into which four troops of my own regiment first entered, and, being well seconded by Colonel Harrison's regiment, charged the Enemy in the Town, and cleared the streets.

There came no band of your foot to fight that day but did it with incredible valor and resolution; among which Colonel Bright's, my Lord General's, Lieutenant-Colonel Read's and Colonel Ashton's had the greatest work; they often coming to push of pike and to close firing, and always making the Enemy to recoil. And indeed I must needs say God was as much seen in the valor of the officers and soldiers of these before-mentioned as in any action that hath been performed; the Enemy making, though he was still worsted, very stiff and sturdy resistance. Colonel Dean's and Colonel Pride's, outwinging the Enemy, could not come to so much share of the action; the Enemy shogging* down towards the Bridge and keeping almost all in reserve, that so he might bring fresh hands often to fight. Which we not knowing, and lest we should be outwinged, 'we' placed those two regiments to enlarge our right wing;

*

Shog is from the same root as shock; 'shogging,' a word of Oliver's in such cases, signifies moving by pulses, intermittently. Ribble Bridge lay or the Scotch right: Dean and Pride, therefore, who fought on the English right, got gradually less and less to do.

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