Arthur Aston (army officer) facts for kids

Sir Arthur Aston (1590 – 1649) was a soldier who lived from 1590 to 1649. He is mostly known for supporting King Charles I during the English Civil War. He is also remembered for how he died in Ireland.

Aston came from an important Roman Catholic family in Cheshire, England. He died during the Siege of Drogheda, a major event in the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland.

Aston's Early Military Life

Arthur Aston was the son of another soldier named Sir Arthur Aston. His family was from Fulham, England.

His father was a professional soldier who worked for different countries. In the 1610s, he served in Russia. Because he was Catholic, he gained the trust of Sigismund III, the King of Poland.

Aston's father agreed to gather 2,000 British soldiers to fight for Poland in a war against the Ottoman Empire in 1621. Many of these soldiers were stopped by Denmark. However, Captain Arthur Aston Junior successfully brought about 300 British and Irish soldiers to Poland. These soldiers later became guards for the Polish King.

Aston's father died in 1624. By 1627, Aston became a Major. He fought in the Polish-Swedish wars. Swedish troops captured him near Danzig in 1627.

After a peace agreement in 1629, Aston left Poland. He then joined the Swedish army under Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. In 1631, he was asked to form an English regiment. His unit arrived in Germany in 1632. By 1634, many of his soldiers were sick, so Aston had to recruit Germans to join his ranks.

Serving in the English Civil War

By 1640, Aston returned to Britain. He commanded a group of soldiers for King Charles during the Second Bishops' War. Some people were worried about his Catholic faith. He had to leave his command, but the King made him a knight for his service.

In 1642, the First English Civil War began. King Charles I first refused to hire Aston because he was Catholic. But Prince Rupert of the Rhine convinced the King to let him join. To stop people from spreading anti-Catholic rumors, Edward Hyde claimed Aston was the only Catholic officer. However, at least six other high-ranking officers were also Catholic.

Aston became a Colonel General of Dragoons, a type of soldier. He served in this role during the Edgehill campaign.

When King Charles made Oxford his main city during the war, Aston became commander of a nearby outpost in Reading. He became unpopular because he was very strict. During the Siege of Reading, he was wounded when a tile hit his head. He was captured by the Parliamentarian army led by the Earl of Essex.

Aston was later released in a prisoner exchange. He then became a Sergeant-Major General of Horse for Prince Rupert. He fought in the Storming of Bristol and the First Battle of Newbury.

Aston became governor of Oxford in late 1643. Again, he made himself unpopular. In September 1644, he fell from a horse at Horspath and lost a leg. Because of this injury, he was replaced as governor. He received a large payment from the King. He did not hold any more official positions during the rest of the First English Civil War.

In 1648, Aston joined the Earl of Ormonde. Ormonde had recently become the leader of the Irish Confederates and other Royalist forces in Ireland. Aston was made governor of the important port town of Drogheda. Drogheda was a Protestant town that had previously supported Parliament.

In 1649, Oliver Cromwell began a siege of Drogheda. The siege ended on September 11, when Cromwell's forces attacked the town. Cromwell's soldiers were told not to spare any armed men. Many defenders were killed by the winning Parliamentarian soldiers.

Aston and other English Royalists went to the strong Millmount Fort. They eventually agreed to surrender after talking. However, they were killed after they put down their weapons. It is often said that the Parliamentarian soldiers killed Aston by hitting his head with his own wooden leg. They believed he had hidden gold coins inside it.

Aston was said to have had a daughter named Elizabeth Thomson. He was also said to have become a Doctor of Physics in 1644.