Battle of Marston Moor

The Battle

Although there were brief exchanges of artillery fire and some skirmishes between outposts during the afternoon, Rupert thought that he still had the initiative and that the battle would take not place until the next day. However, at about 7:30 pm, Leven suddenly attacked under cover of a rainstorm, taking the Royalists by surprise.

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On the Allied left, Cromwell's (and Crawford's) deliberate advance shattered Byron's wing. (Byron had ordered a counter-charge, thus disrupting his own troops and preventing his musketeers from firing). In the centre, most of the Allied front line of infantry managed to force their way across the ditch. On the right, Sir Thomas Fairfax's wing fared less well. His cavalry were disordered by the ditch and by royalist musket fire and when Goring counter-attacked, Fairfax's men were driven from the field.

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Most of Goring's troops scattered in pursuit or fell out to loot the Allied baggage train. However, some of them under Sir Charles Lucas wheeled to attack the right flank of the Allied infantry, at the same time as some of Newcastle's foot and a brigade of horse counter-attacked them in front. Under these assaults in the confusion and the gathering darkness, over half the Scots and Parliamentarian infantry fled. Leven and Lord Fairfax also left the field, believing all was lost. Manchester remained, but commanded no more than his own regiment of foot near the Allied rear. However, the Scottish Sergeant-Major General Sir James Lumsden managed to reform part of the Allied centre.

Related Topics:
Sir Charles Lucas - Sir James Lumsden

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Meanwhile, Rupert rallied some of Byron's men (including Rupert's own Regiment of Horse) and led them and his reserve against Cromwell. A Parliamentarian officer wrote, "Cromwell's own division had a hard pull of it; for they were charged by Rupert's bravest men both in front and flank; they stood at the sword's point a pretty while, hacking one another; but at last (it so pleased God) he brake through them, scattering them before him like a little dust.". Sir David Leslie's Scots eventually swung the balance for Cromwell. Rupert's cavaliers were routed and he himself narrowly avoided capture.

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By now it was fully dark. The battlefield was a scene of wild confusion, and thousands of fugitives from both sides were scattered over the countryside for miles around. All five armies had lost their commanders-in-chief. (Newcastle, who in any case rarely led in the field, had charged with a body of "gentleman volunteers" and was out of touch.) In most such cases, an indecisive drawn battle resulted, but Cromwell's disciplined horsemen had rallied and were the key to victory. Sir Thomas Fairfax had managed to make his way alone through Goring's men to reach Cromwell and relate the state of affairs on the Allied right flank. Supported by Crawford's infantry, Cromwell now led his cavalry right around the Royalist rear to attack Goring's wing from behind. Goring tried to rally his tired troops to meet this threat, but they too were routed.

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Of the Royalist army, only some of Newcastle's foot, the "whitecoats", now remained on the field. They gathered for a last stand in an enclosure named White Sike Close, where for a while they repulsed all Cromwell's attacks. They refused to surrender and eventually they were overwhelmed, only a handful surviving.

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The Royalists lost 4000 men killed, mainly from the last stand of the whitecoats. 1500 Royalists were taken prisoner, including Sir Charles Lucas and Henry Tillier. Although it was claimed that only 300 Scots and Parliamentarians were killed, this is probably propaganda and the true figure was much higher. The brunt of the Allied casualties fell on Fairfax's army.

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