Battle of Naseby (1645): The New Model Army Breaks the King

The Battle of Naseby, fought on 14 June 1645 in Northamptonshire, was the decisive battle of the English Civil War. Parliament’s newly formed New Model Army, led by Sir Thomas Fairfax with Oliver Cromwell commanding the cavalry, destroyed the main field army of King Charles I. After Naseby the Royalists could no longer hope to win the war.

Background

By 1645 the war had lasted nearly three years. Parliament and its Scottish allies had won at Marston Moor in 1644, but quarrels among Parliament’s generals had prevented a final victory. In early 1645 Parliament reorganised its forces into the New Model Army, a single national army with regular pay, under Fairfax as commander-in-chief.

The Royalist campaign of 1645 began well. On 31 May the king’s army stormed and sacked Leicester. Fairfax, who had been besieging Oxford, the royal capital, was ordered to pursue the king. Charles was divided between advisers who wanted to march north and those who wanted to relieve Oxford, and his army was weakened because Lord Goring’s forces remained in the West Country.

The armies

The New Model Army is usually estimated at 13,500 to 15,000 men, against some 9,000 to 10,000 Royalists. Many Parliamentarian infantry were new recruits or pressed men, but the cavalry was strong. Cromwell, appointed lieutenant-general of horse only days earlier, joined the army with fresh troopers on 13 June, to loud cheers.

The Royalists were outnumbered but contained many veterans. Prince Rupert, the king’s nephew and general of horse, was confident that his cavalry and experienced foot could overcome an untested army that Royalists mocked as the “New Noddle”.

The battle

On the morning of 14 June the armies deployed on two low ridges north of Naseby village, with Broad Moor between them. Fairfax drew his army back slightly behind the crest of Red Hill Ridge, partly hiding its strength. Henry Ireton commanded the Parliamentarian left wing of horse and Cromwell the right, with the infantry under Philip Skippon in the centre. Colonel John Okey’s dragoons lined Sulby Hedges on the far left, from where they could fire into the flank of any attack.

The Royalists advanced at about 10 am. On their right, Rupert’s cavalry charged Ireton’s wing and broke much of it. Ireton was wounded and briefly taken prisoner. But, as at Edgehill, Rupert’s horsemen rode on towards the Parliamentarian baggage train at Naseby instead of returning quickly to the battle.

In the centre, the veteran Royalist infantry under Lord Astley pushed back the Parliamentarian foot, and Skippon was badly wounded. For a time the battle hung in the balance.

The decisive blow came on the other wing. Cromwell’s cavalry defeated Sir Marmaduke Langdale’s Northern Horse, and, unlike Rupert, Cromwell kept most of his men under control. He sent part of his force in pursuit and turned the rest against the flank and rear of the Royalist infantry. Okey’s dragoons mounted and charged from the other side, and the remaining Parliamentarian horse joined in.

Charles prepared to lead his reserve in a final charge, but the Earl of Carnwath seized his horse’s bridle and turned him away, fearing for the king’s life. The reserve wheeled about, and the chance was lost. By the time Rupert returned, the Royalist infantry was surrounded and surrendering. Charles and Rupert escaped with the cavalry towards Leicester.

Casualties and aftermath

Royalist losses are usually estimated at about 1,000 killed and 4,000 to 5,000 captured, including most of the king’s experienced infantry. The Parliamentarians also took the Royalist artillery, many standards and the king’s baggage. Their own losses were far lower, probably a few hundred.

In the pursuit, Parliamentarian soldiers attacked the women and other camp followers with the Royalist baggage. Perhaps 100 or more were killed and others were disfigured, on the claim that they were Irish. Many were probably Welsh.

Among the baggage was the king’s private correspondence. Parliament published selections as “The King’s Cabinet Opened” in July 1645. The letters showed that Charles had sought soldiers from Catholic Ireland and help from foreign powers, which shocked Protestant opinion and hardened attitudes against him.

Key people

• Sir Thomas Fairfax (1612–1671): commander-in-chief of the New Model Army, known for his personal courage. At Naseby he fought bareheaded after losing his helmet.
• Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658): lieutenant-general of horse, whose disciplined cavalry on the right wing decided the battle.
• Henry Ireton (1611–1651): commissary-general of horse, commander of the left wing and later Cromwell’s son-in-law.
• Philip Skippon (died 1660): major-general of the foot, who stayed on the field despite a serious wound.
• Charles I (1600–1649): present in person and nominally in command, though he relied heavily on his officers.
• Prince Rupert of the Rhine (1619–1682): general of the Royalist horse, who had argued for fighting at Naseby.
• Sir Jacob Astley (1579–1652): veteran commander of the Royalist infantry, captured in March 1646 at Stow-on-the-Wold, the last Royalist field army to surrender.

Why the Royalists lost

Several factors combined. The Royalists were heavily outnumbered, partly because Goring’s horse remained in the West Country and part of the king’s army had been left to garrison Leicester. Rupert’s charge, though successful, again took the best Royalist cavalry away from the decisive point.

By contrast, Cromwell held back reserves and used them to attack the enemy infantry. Okey’s dragoons, firing from the hedges, disrupted the Royalist right before mounting to charge. The Parliamentarians also used the ground well, keeping much of their army out of sight until the Royalists were committed.

Finally, the outcome reflected Parliament’s greater resources. It controlled London, most ports and the richest regions, which allowed it to pay, arm and replace its soldiers. A single defeat for Parliament would not have ended the war, but the loss of the king’s veteran infantry was impossible to make good.

The end of the First Civil War

Naseby was followed by a rapid collapse. Fairfax defeated Goring at Langport in Somerset on 10 July 1645, and Bristol surrendered on 10 September. The king dismissed Rupert for giving up the city. Royalist resistance in the West Country ended in early 1646.

On 5 May 1646 Charles surrendered to the Scottish army at Southwell, and Oxford capitulated in June. The way was opened for the long struggle over a settlement that ended with the execution of Charles I in 1649.

Timeline

• 1645, 15 February: The New Model Ordinance passes; Fairfax is commander-in-chief.
• 1645, 31 May: The Royalists storm Leicester.
• 1645, 13 June: Cromwell joins Fairfax’s army near Naseby.
• 1645, 14 June: Battle of Naseby.
• 1645, 10 July: Fairfax defeats Goring at Langport.
• 1645, 10 September: Rupert surrenders Bristol.
• 1646, 5 May: Charles I surrenders to the Scots.

Legacy

Archaeological surveys led by Glenn Foard in the 1990s used the distribution of musket balls and other finds to reconstruct the course of the fighting more precisely. Part of the battlefield is now protected and can be visited, with viewpoints, an obelisk raised in 1823 and a memorial erected by the Cromwell Association in 1936. Naseby remains a byword in British history for a decisive battle that settled a war.

Why it matters

Naseby proved the worth of the New Model Army and ended the king’s chance of a military victory. It made Fairfax and Cromwell the dominant soldiers in England and set the army on the path to political power that would lead to the king’s trial and the republic.