Battle of Powick Bridge facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Battle of Powick Bridge |
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| Part of the First English Civil War | |||||||
 Powick Bridge pictured in 2006 |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Royalists |
 Parliamentarians |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Prince Rupert |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 1,000 horse | 1,000 horse | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown, one estimate suggests around 30 dead | Estimated between 30 and 150 dead or captured | ||||||
The Battle of Powick Bridge was a small but important clash that happened on 23 September 1642. It took place near Worcester, England, during the First English Civil War. This battle was the first time parts of the main armies of the Royalists (who supported King Charles I) and the Parliamentarians (who supported Parliament) fought each other.
Sir John Byron was moving valuable supplies for King Charles. He was worried about Parliamentarian soldiers nearby. So, he took shelter in Worcester on 16 September, waiting for more Royalist troops. Prince Rupert led a Royalist force to help him. At the same time, the Parliamentarians sent a group led by Colonel John Brown to try and capture the supplies. Both sides had about 1,000 soldiers on horseback, including cavalry and dragoons.
The Parliamentarians came from the south on the afternoon of 23 September. They rode through narrow paths and straight into Rupert's soldiers, who were resting in a field. The noise of the approaching Parliamentarian cavalry warned the Royalists. They quickly got ready. Royalist dragoons fired at close range as the Parliamentarians came into the field. This gave their cavalry time to prepare. Rupert's cavalry then charged and defeated most of the Parliamentarian cavalry. One group did stand and fight back, but in the end, all the Parliamentarians were forced to run away.
Colonel Brown protected his cavalry's escape. His dragoons made a stand at Powick Bridge. Rupert chased them to Powick village, but the Parliamentarian cavalry ran 15 miles further. Their flight caused panic among some of the main Parliamentarian army. The Royalists then left Worcester safely with their valuable supplies. The Parliamentarian army arrived in the city the next day. They stayed for four weeks before following the Royalists towards London. This led to the bigger Battle of Edgehill later.
Contents
Why the English Civil War Started
Growing Problems in England
In 1642, the disagreements between the English Parliament and King Charles became much worse. These problems had been building up for a long time. Things got very serious after the King tried to arrest five Members of Parliament. He said they were working against him. When he failed to arrest them, Charles and his family left London. Many historians believe this made a civil war almost certain.
Both sides started getting ready for war. They tried to recruit soldiers from the existing local armies, called the militia, and new volunteers. Parliament passed a law called the Militia Ordinance in March 1642. They did this without the King's approval. This law gave Parliament control over the county militias. In response, King Charles gave his commanders special orders called commissions of array. This was an old way to gather soldiers. It hadn't been used for almost 100 years.
King Charles Declares War
Even though the King and Parliament were angry with each other, it still seemed like they were ruling the country together. This idea ended when Charles moved to York in mid-March. He was afraid he would be captured if he stayed in the south of England. The first open fight happened at Kingston-upon-Hull. This city had a large collection of weapons. King Charles was not allowed into the city in April and again in July by the Parliamentarian governor.
Charles was good at getting people to join the Royalist side in northern England, the East Midlands, and Wales. But he didn't have enough weapons to arm them. Parliament, however, had many soldiers from the south-east of England. They also had plenty of weapons and controlled the navy.
On 22 August, King Charles officially declared war on Parliament. He raised his royal standard in Nottingham. Both sides kept recruiting more soldiers. Parliament placed its main army, led by the Earl of Essex, between the King and London. This army was in Northampton. At this time, Charles had far fewer soldiers. He had only a quarter to half as many as Essex's 20,000 men. His soldiers were also not as well-equipped. Even so, Essex did not attack right away. His orders allowed him to offer the King a chance to make peace.
There had been small fights in other parts of England. But the two main armies did not make big moves against each other until mid-September. On 13 September, Charles moved his army west. He went through Derby and Stafford towards Shrewsbury. He hoped to get more Royalist soldiers there. These soldiers were being raised in Wales and other parts of England.
Sir John Byron's Important Convoy
Sir John Byron was a strong supporter of King Charles. He created what was probably the first Royalist cavalry group of the war. In August, he took control of Oxford with his 160 soldiers. But a larger Parliamentarian force made him leave on 10 September. Byron's group left with a large convoy. It carried gold and silver donated by Oxford University. This money was to help pay for the King's war preparations.
As he headed towards the Royalist forces in Shrewsbury, Byron learned that the Parliamentarian army was close. He decided to find a safe place. On 16 September, he stopped at Worcester. This was a large town on the River Severn. It had old city walls, but they were in poor condition. Byron knew he couldn't hold the city easily. So, he waited for more soldiers to arrive.
Getting Ready for Battle
Parliamentarians did not react to the Royalist army's movements until 19 September. They were trying to find out where the King was going. Then, they moved on a path parallel to the Royalists. They went through Coventry and towards Worcester. This would again place Parliament's army between the Royalists and London. Worcester was also surrounded by farmland, which could feed Essex's army.
While Essex was still some distance away, he learned about the Royalist convoy. One of his cavalry leaders, John Brown, convinced him to send a group of soldiers to Worcester. Their goal was to try and capture the valuable supplies.
Brown led about 1,000 mounted soldiers. They reached Worcester on 22 September. They tried to enter the eastern gate but found it well-defended. They pulled back to the south. There, they secured a bridge across the Severn River. One of the Parliamentarian officers, Nathaniel Fiennes, wrote a report about what happened. He said that another officer, Colonel Edwin Sandys, argued they should move closer to Worcester. This would stop the convoy from escaping. They went to Powick, just south of the River Teme. This was about 2 miles south of Worcester. They spent the night and most of the next day there. They guarded the road they thought Byron would use to escape.
The Parliamentarians did not send out scouts or put a lookout in the church tower. So, they didn't know that Byron had received more soldiers earlier that day. Prince Rupert, the Royalist general of horse, had arrived. He also had about a thousand mounted soldiers. Rupert's men were just north of the Teme. They were guarding the southern approach to the city. Historian Peter Gaunt thinks Rupert probably knew the Parliamentarians were nearby. But he let his men rest in a field called Wick Field. Many of them even took off their armor.
Different Kinds of Soldiers
During the First English Civil War, two main types of mounted soldiers were used. They were often just called "horse." Dragoons were soldiers who rode horses but fought on foot. They carried muskets. Dragoons were often used as skirmishers (soldiers who fight in small, quick battles) or as part of the advanced guard because they could move quickly. They rode to the battle but then got off their horses to fight.
Cavalry soldiers stayed on their horses to fight. They generally rode larger horses than dragoons. Most were harquebusiers. These soldiers wore a helmet and plate armor on their chest. They carried a sword, two pistols, and a carbine (a shorter rifle). Rupert's force was split almost evenly between dragoons and cavalry. We don't know the exact number of each in the Parliamentarian force. Records only show they had ten groups of cavalry and five companies of dragoons.
The cavalry of the two forces used different fighting methods. The Parliamentarians used tactics from the army of the Dutch Republic. The Dutch army was very strong in the early 1600s. Many English cavalry officers had learned to fight from them. Parliamentarian cavalry used their guns a lot, a tactic called caracole. When attacking, one line of soldiers would move forward to fire at their enemies. When defending, the cavalry would stay still and fire into the enemy charge. They hoped to break their opponents and then charge back.
In contrast, Rupert's cavalry used a changed version of tactics from Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. They formed shallower lines than the Parliamentarians. This allowed more soldiers to be at the front. The Royalist cavalry attacked by charging forward. They only used their guns when they were very close to their enemies. They often used their swords instead.
The Battle Begins
Around 4 PM, Brown and Sandys ordered their soldiers to move towards the city. Historian Richard Brooks suggests they had heard that Byron was getting ready to leave Worcester. Sandys led a small group of soldiers ahead. They crossed a narrow bridge and went along a country lane. This lane was so narrow that only three riders could go side-by-side.
Historians have slightly different ideas about the first part of the fight. Brooks, Chris Scott, and Alan Turton say the Royalist dragoons were already ready. They were hidden along the hedges of the lane. When the Parliamentarians came up the path, the dragoons opened fire. This made Sandys's men panic and rush forward into Wick Field. The gunfire also warned the resting Royalist cavalry that the enemy was coming.
Peter Gaunt and Trevor Royle say all the Royalists were already in the field. The noise of the Parliamentarian horsemen warned Rupert that they were coming. This allowed him to quickly get his men ready for battle as best as he could. He placed his dragoons, who were off their horses, along the hedges. The cavalry formed up in the open meadow. When Sandys and his cavalry group came into the field, they faced gunfire from the dragoons at very close range. This gave the Royalist cavalry more time to get ready.
The Parliamentarians tried to regroup and fire back. But Rupert's cavalry charged them. Sandys was badly hurt during this first attack. Sandys's soldiers were defeated. They had no help from their dragoons, who were stuck behind the cavalry in the narrow country lanes. Fiennes said he managed to control his cavalry. He held fire until the charging Royalists were very close. He said their horses' noses almost touched his first line of soldiers. Even so, his group was alone after Sandys's men ran away. They were forced to stop fighting.
The Parliamentarian dragoons made a stand at Powick Bridge. They fought to protect the cavalry as they ran away. But Rupert stopped chasing them at Powick village.
What Happened Next
The Parliamentarian cavalry rode in fear all the way back to Pershore, which was 15 miles away. There, they met Essex's Lifeguard (a special group of soldiers). Their story of the battle and their belief that Rupert's cavalry was still chasing them caused the Lifeguard to panic. They also ran away.
According to Fiennes, both sides lost about 30 men who died. Other reports say the Parliamentarian losses were higher. Brooks estimates that between 100 and 150 Parliamentarians were killed, captured, or ran away. The Royalists said they didn't lose any important people. But many of their officers were hurt, including Prince Maurice (Rupert's younger brother) and Henry Wilmot.
The battle made Rupert famous as a skilled cavalry leader. Soldiers from both sides told stories about the battle. A Royalist writer, Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, said the victory "made the name of Prince Rupert very terrible." Historian Austin Woolrych says Powick Bridge was important "out of proportion to its scale." It showed that the Royalists had forces that could stand up to and beat Parliament's soldiers. It also affected the spirits of both armies leading up to the Battle of Edgehill a month later.
Since the Parliamentarians were no longer a threat, the valuable convoy could continue its journey to the King. Rupert then left Worcester, which was hard to defend. He went back north to Shropshire. The next day, Essex's army arrived in Worcester. They stayed there for the next four weeks. The city had said it supported Parliament on 13 September. But many in Essex's army thought Worcester's citizens had helped the Royalists. So, the city was treated badly. It had to pay to transport the wounded and bury the dead from the battle. Much of the city was also robbed, especially the cathedral.
After both armies grew even larger, King Charles marched out of Shrewsbury on 12 October. He was heading towards London. People thought that either defeating Essex's army or capturing London could end the war quickly. However, the two armies met at the Battle of Edgehill on 23 October. The battle did not have a clear winner. After that, the Royalists continued their slow approach towards London. The Parliamentarians took a less direct route to the capital but still got there first. After more battles at Brentford and Turnham Green, Charles went back to Oxford to set up his winter camp.
Almost nine years later, the final battle of the Third English Civil War, the Battle of Worcester, also happened in and around Powick. Oliver Cromwell's Parliamentarian New Model Army won a clear victory over King Charles II. The day after the Battle of Worcester, a preacher named Hugh Peter gave a sermon to Cromwell's soldiers. He talked about the two battles. He said, "when their wives and children should ask them where they had been and what news, they should say they had been at Worcester, where England's sorrows began, and where they were happily ended."
