English Civil War, Second (1648)

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Brief second flare-up of fighting after the First English Civil War. Fighting started in March 1648, with Royalist uprisings in Wales and southern England. Cromwell led the campaign against the Welsh rebels, capturing their stronghold of Pembroke Castle in July, while Fairfax dealt with the rebels in Kent and Essex, who were forced back into Colchester, where they surrendered in August. In July, a 24,000 strong army of Scottish royalists, led by James, duke of Hamilton, invaded England. Cromwell, with 8,500 moved toward Wigan and Preston to intercept them. Although Hamilton had the larger army, it was badly equipt, and poorly led, and by the time Cromwell reached them, they were spread out over fifty miles. Cromwell attacked the Scottish vanguard, and defeated them in the battle of Preston (17-19 August 1648), after which the remains of the invading army were scattered into small bands which posed no threat. Finally, the Army deposed Parliament. Having discovered that the Parliament was negotiating with King Charles, the army occupied London, siezed the King, and prepared for the trial of the King. When Parliament defied the Army, Colonel Thomas Pride prevented those MP's who were hostile to the army from entering Parliament (Pride's Purge, 6-7 December 1648). The 'Rump Parliament' that remained then went on to condemn Charles I, who was executed on 30 January 1649, after which England was dominated by the Army.

Books on the English Civil War | Subject Index: English Civil War

cover The English Civil War , Richard Holmes & Peter Young, an early work by one of the country's best known military historians, this is a superb single volume history of the war, from its causes to the last campaigns of the war and on to the end of the protectorate.
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How to cite this article: Rickard, J. (24 November 2000), English Civil War, Second (1648), http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_ecw2.html

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