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The 'Battle of Roundway Down' was fought on July 13, 1643, during the English Civil War. The Royalists won a crushing victory over the Parliamentarians under Sir William Waller near Devizes in Wiltshire.

Contents

Campaign

The battle

Aftermath

Sources

External links

Campaign

On July 5, Lord Hopton's army had driven Waller from his position at the Battle of Lansdowne. In doing so, they suffered so many casualties and became so demoralised and short of ammunition that they were forced to withdraw towards Oxford, the Royalist capital, to receive reinforcements.
Meanwhile, Waller had been reinforced. He followed up Hopton's army closely, and on the night of July 8 he occupied Roundway Down, the high ground north of Devizes, barring the Royalists' further retreat. The Royalists fell back into the town, and their commanders held a hasty council of war. It was agreed that Prince Maurice would break out and make for Oxford with the 300 horse remaining with the Royalist army. While Hopton's Cornish infantry defended Devizes, Maurice was to collect a relieving force from Oxford.
Maurice escaped just before Waller surrounded the town. The next day, Waller set up his guns and began a siege. On July 12, he captured a convoy bringing ammunition to Hopton, and demanded a surrender. This was refused, and the next morning, a Royalist relief force appeared on Roundway Down.
Maurice had reached Oxford late on July 10. Lord Wilmot, Lieutenant General of Horse for King Charles, set out almost at once for Devizes with 1,500 cavalry and two light "galloper guns", collecting Maurice's 300 horse on the way.

The battle

Early on the morning of July 13, Wilmot's force reached Roughridge Hill, five miles north east of Devizes, and fired two rounds from their guns as a signal to the besieged. They were organised as two strong brigades under Wilmot himself and Sir John Byron, and a weaker one under Lord Crawford.
Waller had been informed of their arrival, and he abandoned the siege and marched to occupy the highest point of Roundway Down, hoping to defeat Wilmot before Hopton could sally from Devizes against his rear. He deployed his infantry in the centre of his line, with cavalry on each flank.
Although Waller held the higher ground, the Royalists attacked first. Wilmot's brigade attacked the Parliamentarian left. The leading troops of this Parliamentarian wing were a fully armoured regiment of cuirassiers, the London lobsters, under Sir Arthur Haselrig. They appeared to have met Wilmot's charge at the halt, and were thrown into confusion and driven back into their second line. After a brief contest, they retreated in disorder.
Byron attacked the Parliamentarian right, under fire from the guns and musketeers of their centre. Once again, the Parliamentarians halted to receive the charge, and were shaken by the clash. They too gave way and fled, pursued by Byron. Some of the fleeing Parliamentarians died when they were forced to gallop over a precipice near Roundway village.
Wilmot's and Byron's troopers rallied and turned on the Parliamentarian centre. The Roundhead foot held out for a while, until Hopton's infantry marched up from Devizes and deployed to attack. They then tried to retreat northwards, but failed and the survivors threw down their arms.

Aftermath

Roundway down was the greatest cavalry victory of the English Civil War. The Parliamentarian field army in south-west England was destroyed, allowing the Royalists to capture the port and major city of Bristol a few weeks later; this period of Royalist successes was referred to as the ''Royalist summer''.

Sources

★ ''Battles and Generals of the Civil Wars'', Colonel H.C.B. Rodgers, Seeley Service & Co. Ltd, 1968

External links

★ British Civil War site