CHAPTER VII.
OF THE FIGHT AT COPREDY BRIDGE.
Of his Majesty's marchings and counter-marchings, after his coming tothe City of Worcester, I shall not write in this place, save to saythat they were ordered with such skill as utterly confounded hispursuers. But they that read this book will, I doubt not, pardon me ifI speak somewhat particularly of the battle which his Majesty foughtat Copredy Bridge, seeing that it was the first battle in which I hada hand.
On the twenty-eighth day of June, being a Friday, the army lay for thenight in the field, eastward of Banbury. The next day the King marchedto the North, having the Cherwell River on his left hand, Sir WilliamWaller at the same time coasting on the other side of the river. Myfather and I were with the rear of the army, in which were a thousandfoot and two brigades of horse of which the one was commanded by myLord Northampton, and the other by my Lord Cleveland. In this latterwas the regiment of which my father had charge for the time. Aboutnoon we halted to dine. This business finished, we began again tomarch, not expecting that the enemy, who was some way distant from theriver, would fall upon us. But about two of the clock we noted thatthe body of the army--with which was the King himself--had sincedinner made such haste that there was now a great space left betweenthem and us; for we had received no command to quicken our marching.Being somewhat uneasy at this--for it was not to be doubted that SirWilliam Waller, being a man experienced in warfare, would takeoccasion of this dividing of the army to fall upon us--we spiedcertain scattered horsemen riding towards us, with such hurry andconfusion as men are when they are pursued. While we wondered whatthis might mean comes a rider post-haste to my Lord Cleveland, andsays:
"My Lord, be on your guard, and make ready to defend yourselves. Theenemy has taken Copredy Bridge, which the Dragoons were keeping forthe King, and will cross the river in a short space of time. 'Tis saidthat he has five thousand men and twenty pieces of cannon."
These numbers were exaggerated by fame, as is commonly the case, forthere were, in truth, little more than half the number. At the sametime, we perceived that a brigade of horse, which we reckoned at abouta thousand, had crossed the river by a certain ford, which was a milebelow the bridge, and was ready to fall upon us in the rear. Theselatter, being the nearer to us of the two, seemed to my Lord Clevelandto demand his first care. Thereupon he drew up his brigade to a risingground, which faced the ford aforesaid, and passed the word that weshould make ready to charge. Then we all descended from our horses andlooked to our saddle-girths, that they should not fail us, and to thetrimming of our pistols. Then, mounting again, we drew our swords, andso sat waiting for the word. Whether during that said waiting I feltany fear I can scarce say. 'Tis, indeed, a mighty difficult thingclearly to distinguish between fear and other feelings that aresomewhat akin to it. The Latins had a certain word--_trepidare_,to wit--which has a singular variety of meaning. That it has somethingto do with "trembling" there can scarce be doubt, and it does oftensignify such agitation of mind as is commonly shown by trembling; yetsometimes also its meaning seems to be "haste" only; and, indeed, aman may tremble for eagerness and not for fear. That I had any thoughtof flying or shrinking back I can, with a good conscience, deny. A manmust be beside himself with fear that should think of such a thing;but my heart beat mighty quick, and I thought of them that were dearto me as might one who thinks to see them no more. While these thingswere in my mind comes my father, riding along in front of the line, tosee that all were ready. When he comes to me--I being placed at theright end of the line--he laid his right hand on my shoulder, andsaid, "Be steady, son Philip; let not your horse carry you too fast.That you be not too slow I need not warn you." ('Twas marvellous whatheart he put into me by these words, which seemed to take my courageas something beyond doubt.) "Give the point of your sword to an enemyrather than the edge, and keep your pistols for a last resource, whenyou shalt find yourself in close quarters with an enemy and like to behard pressed."
When he had said so much the trumpet sounded for a charge, and we setspurs to our horses, and rode, slowly at the first, and keeping ourranks passably well, but afterwards at our horses' full speed, and ina certain disorder. I do believe that the veriest coward upon earthcould not fear if he once found himself riding in a charge; a mancannot choose but forget himself, and, if he have no courage of hisown, he takes that of his company and is content to meet dangers atwhich he would otherwise tremble and grow pale. The enemy had scarcefinished their crossing of the river; and though they put on a boldface, and even began to move forward to encounter us, they could notstand, but were broken at the first encounter. For myself, I cleanforgot my father's command that I should give the point of my sword,and struck lustily, often missing my blow altogether, and doing butlittle at other times but blunting my sword. 'Twas all the better sofor one of the enemy's horse that was overthrown by our charge. He wasa lad of seventeen or thereabouts, a brave youth, for he would standhis ground though his men left him. But now he and his horse went downbefore us, and that straight in my way. Thereupon, being on the groundand helpless, he cried "Quarter!" Now, whether or no I heard him ismore than I can say, but I must confess with shame that I was socarried out of myself with the fury of battle that it was as if he hadnot spoken, for I struck at him, so lying, with all my might. But thefury which caused me so to forget myself did also make me altogethermiss my aim. God be thanked therefor! for otherwise that day had beento me for all my life such a shame and sorrow as cannot be expressed.As I was in the act to lift my sword again--for I will concealnothing--I felt a hand upon my arm that held it as with a grip ofiron; and my father, for it was he, cried in such a voice as I hadnever before heard from his lips, "What savage is that that will slaya Christian man when he cries 'Quarter'?" Thereat I dropped my sword,being, so to speak, come to myself, and mightily ashamed. My fatherleapt down from his horse, and said to the young man, "Yield yourselfto me, and you shall suffer no harm." Then the young man, who, nowthat I had leisure, I could see to be a cornet, yielded up his sword,and my father bade one of the troopers take him to the rear. Thisdone, he turned him to me and said, "I had almost as lief you were acoward as a madman. Be you one or the other, this is not fit place foryou, and you had better depart."
"Nay, my father," I said, "disgrace me not. I will hold myself inbetter check hereafter."
By this time the enemy had fallen back on their supports, and my LordCleveland sounded the bugle, and we rode back slowly to our formerplace. There was, I remember, a great ash-tree there, under which theKing stayed to take his dinner. Looking about him there, my Lord sawanother body of the enemy within musket shot of him and advancing uponhim (these were the Parliament men that had come over the bridge). Idoubt not but that in any case he would have charged them, though theycounted sixteen cornets of horse and as many colours of foot, but nowhe was the more encouraged, because he saw that the body of the King'sarmy was drawing to his help. When the enemy saw him move forwards,they halted, hiding behind the hedges, and delivered their volley ofmusket and carbine shot, which volley, though it emptied some of oursaddles, stayed not our charge. Indeed, they did not abide ourapproach (and, indeed, I have noted that for the most part there isbut little crossing of swords or pikes in battle, but they that giveplace yield to the persuasion of superior force that they conceive intheir minds), but we drave them, with scarce a blow struck, beyondtheir cannon. These also we took, being eleven in number, and besidesthe cannon two barricadoes of wood drawn up on wheels; in each ofthese were seven small guns of brass and leather, loaded withcase-shot, which, by God's mercy, they had not tarried to discharge;else, I doubt not, we had suffered much damage. Certain of thecannoneers were killed, and the general of the ordnance takenprisoner. This was a certain Scotsman, by name Wemyss, who was in veryill favour with the King's men, because, having been mademaster-gunner of England, with a very considerable pension, to theprejudice of many honest Englishmen, he took the first opportunity todo him hurt. Many other prisoners were taken, nearly two hundred inal
l. In this charge I bore myself more discreetly, riding as close asI could to my father, but I found no occasion to cross swords with anyenemy, for here again they did not abide our charge, but turned whenwe were about a pistol-shot from them. As for them that were slain,who were in number more than the prisoners, they fell in the flight,for the most part without striking a blow, though some parties of themrallied and fought for their lives. Of our party there fell, chieflyin this way, somewhat less than a score, among whom were two colonelsof regiments.
_A Gunner._ _HANHART LITH._]
Here was finished my part in this battle. Of what else was done thatday little needs to be said. The horsemen that crossed by the ford,making head again and threatening our rear, were charged by my LordNorthampton, and driven across the river; indeed, these stayed not atall my Lord's approach, but fled so speedily and so far that 'tis saidthey never returned again to their own army.
So far things went altogether well for the King. But when his Majestywould himself attack the enemy he fared not so well. The bridge hecould not take for all his endeavours, which he continued from threeof the clock in the afternoon till nightfall; and though his men tookthe ford that was below and a mill adjoining thereto, and held themthat day and the next also, not being supported by their fellows, theywere compelled to retire. 'Tis beyond doubt, however, that the victoryrested with the King; for though when the battle was finished eachparty held the same ground that it had at the first, yet the enemylost many times more both in killed and prisoners. Nor must it beforgotten, as showing what the rebels themselves did think of thematter, that whereas Sir William Waller on the day of the battle hadeight thousand men with him, fourteen days afterward there remainedwith him not half that number.
The next day the cornet of horse whom my father had taken prisoner wasexchanged. It was his good fortune that on our side also there hadbeen taken an officer of the same degree. He was a lad of sixteen orthereabouts, somewhat weakly of body, though of a very high spirit,and was carried by his horse, which he could not by any meansrestrain, into the midst of the enemy. As for the colonels and othersof high degree, they had to wait, there not being any of ours whocould be exchanged against them. We had some talk with the lad whilewe lay encamped that night on the field of battle, but he held backand would say but little. But this much I gathered from him, that hehad gone to the wars without the consent of his father. At the sametime he was very hot about certain wrongs which his father hadsuffered from the King or the King's Ministers, though what they werehe did not more particularly set forth. He told me that he came fromNorthamptonshire, and that his father had purposed to send him toLincoln College, in which this county, as belonging to the diocese ofOxford, has with others a certain preference.
On the last day of June I returned to Oxford, my father remaining withthe King, who was minded to march westward.
With the King at Oxford: A Tale of the Great Rebellion Page 8