[212]
Joined with him as sergeant-major-general, and therefore not only as commander of the foot but as chief of the staff, was the veteran Philip Skippon. His long experience of war in the Low Countries, and the respect which such experience commanded, doubtless prompted his selection to be Fairfax's chief adviser13. The post of lieutenant14-general, which carried with it the command of the cavalry15, was left unfilled. Every one knew who was the right man for the place, and there could be little doubt but that, notwithstanding all self-denying ordinances16, he must sooner or later be summoned to hold it. For the present he was employed, pending17 the expiration18 of the forty days of grace allowed him by the Ordinance, in watching the movements of the Royalist forces in the west. Though there had been trouble even with his famous regiments20 in the general collapse21 at the close of 1644, yet it was noticed that in January 1645 no troops had appeared so full in numbers, so well armed, and so civil in their carriage as Colonel Cromwell's horse. "Call them Independents or what you will," said one newspaper, "you will find that they will make Sir Thomas Fairfax a regiment19 of a thousand as brave and gallant horse as any in England."
This however was not to happen at once. Fairfax, having obtained the Parliament's approval of his list of officers, was busily engaged with Skippon in hewing22 rougher material than Cromwell's troopers into shape. Many of the disbanded regiments of Essex lay ready to his hand, but they had lately shown a mutinous23 spirit which it required all Skippon's tact24 and firmness to curb25. The old man, however, as he was affectionately called, knew how to manage soldiers, and the promise of regular pay, notwithstanding that one quarter of the same was deferred26 as security against desertion, soon brought them cheerfully into the service. Nevertheless there were, even so, not voluntary recruits enough to supply the twenty-two thousand men required by the Ordinance; more than eight thousand were still wanting, and the Committee of Both Kingdoms could think of no better[213] means for raising them than the press-gang. This was the system which, when enforced by Charles the First, had been denounced as an intolerable grievance27, and it was not less violently resisted when sanctioned by Parliament. The Government, however, carried matters with a strong hand, and a couple of executions soon brought the recalcitrant28 recruits to submission29.
The scene of the making of the New Army which was destined30 to subdue31 the King was, by the irony32 of fate, royal Windsor. It is on the broad expanse of Windsor Park and on the green meadows by the Thames, before the wondering eyes of the Eton boys, that we must picture the daily parade of the new regiments, the exercise of pike and musket33 and the assiduous doubling of ranks and files, old Skippon, gray and scarred with wounds, riding from company to company and instituting mental comparisons between them and the English soldiers of the Low Countries, and the younger sprightlier34 Fairfax, still but three-and-thirty, watching with all a Yorkshireman's love of horseflesh the arrival of troopers and baggage-animals. Every day the scene grew brighter as corps35 after corps received its new clothing, for the whole army, for the first time in English history, was clad in the familiar scarlet36. Facings of the colonel's colours distinguished37 regiment from regiment; and the senior corps of foot, being the General's own, wore his facings of blue.[164] Thus the royal colours, as we now call them, were first seen at the head of a rebel army.
The senior regiment of horse was also in due time to be clothed in the same scarlet and blue. For Cromwell's two regiments of horse had been selected, as was their due, to be blent into one and to take precedence, as Sir Thomas Fairfax's, of the whole of the English cavalry. In this same month of April the regiment was in the field, turning out quicker than any other corps on the sounding of the alarm, while the "lovely company" of which the colonel had boasted,[214] now called the General's troop, was distinguishing itself above all others. Modern regiments of cavalry that wear the royal colours need not be ashamed to remember that they perpetuate38 the dress of Oliver Cromwell's troopers. Excluded though Cromwell was from the making of the New Model Army, he was none the less its creator, for it was he who had shown the way to discipline and regimental pride.
It is now necessary briefly39 to sketch40 the organisation41 of the New Model. Beginning therefore with the infantry42, the foot consisted of twelve regiments, each divided into ten companies of one hundred and twenty men apiece. As all the field-officers, even if they held the rank of general, had companies of their own, the full number of officers to a regiment was thirty: colonel, lieutenant-colonel, major, seven captains, ten lieutenants43 and ten ensigns. Each company included moreover two sergeants44, three corporals, and one, if not two, drums.[165] The privates were divided as usual into an equal number of pikemen and musketeers: the weapons of officers being, for a captain, a pike; for a lieutenant, the partisan45; and for an ensign, the sword. Since Skippon, a veteran of the Dutch school, was at the head of the infantry, it can hardly be doubted that the Dutch system of drill was preferred to the Swedish. Gustavus Adolphus, it must be remembered, was chiefly concerned with the Scots; while the contemporary drill books of the English prefer the teaching of Maurice of Nassau. It is therefore reasonably safe to conclude that the normal formation of the infantry of the New Model was not less than eight ranks in depth.
The cavalry consisted of eleven regiments, each of which contained six troops of one hundred men. Here[215] again every field-officer had a troop of his own, so that the full complement46 of officers to a regiment numbered eighteen, namely, colonel, major, four captains, six lieutenants, and six cornets. Three corporals and a trumpeter were included among the hundred men; and the admirable system which sorted each troop into three divisions, each under special charge of an officer and a corporal, was in full working order. In the matter of drill and tactics, the English cavalry was before rather than behind the times. The modified shock-action of Gustavus Adolphus had, under the influence of Rupert and Cromwell, been virtually superseded48. The men indeed were still armed, according to the old fashion, with iron helmet and cuirass, and still carried each a brace49 of pistols as well as a sword; but they were instructed to trust to their swords in the charge, and to use their fire-arms only in the pursuit. Gustavus had formed his horse as a rule in four ranks; Rupert fixed50 the depth at three;[166] the Parliamentary officers went so far as to reduce the ranks to two, sacrificing depth to frontage, and trusting to speed, we cannot doubt, to overcome weight. Last and most daring innovation of all, they abolished the file as the tactical unit of the troop and substituted the rank in its place.[167] No better testimony51 to the improvement of English discipline could be found than this reduction in the depth of the ranks of cavalry. For once it may be said that the English horse stood in advance of all Europe.
As regards the duties of reconnaissance, not a treatise52 on cavalry omits to mention that it is the function of the horse to scour53 the ways in advance of an army; but there are no precise directions as to the manner of fulfilling it. Cromwell's constant references [216]to a "forlorn" of horse show that he employed advanced parties regularly, and attention has already been called to the efficiency of Rupert's patrols. There is no evidence, however, that the men received any instruction in the matter of reconnaissance, and it is only from the Royalist Vernon that we learn that vedettes were posted then, as now, in pairs.
The dragoons of the New Model seem, in spite of a resolution of the Commons that they should be regimented, to have been organised in ten companies, each one hundred strong. Their officers were a colonel, a major, eight captains, ten lieutenants, and ten ensigns. The dragoons were mounted infantry pure and simple, riding for the sake of swifter mobility54 only, and provided with inferior horses. They were armed with the musket and drilled like their brethren of the foot; their junior subalterns were called ensigns and not cornets, and they obeyed not the trumpet47 but the drum. Their normal formation was in ten ranks of ten men abreast55. For action, nine out of the ten dismounted, and linking their horses by the simple method of throwing the bridle56 of each over the head of his neighbour in the ranks, left them in charge of the tenth man.[168]
Next we must glance at the Artillery57 which, together with the transport, was comprehended under the head of the Train. The only organised force of which we hear as attached to the train is two regiments of infantry and two companies of firelocks, which were used for purposes of escort only. The firelocks were distinguished from the rest of the army by wearing tawny58 instead of scarlet coats, and seem therefore to have been a peculiar59 people, but the immediate60 connection of flint-lock muskets61 with cannon62 is not apparent.[217] The truth seems to be that the English were behind the times in respect of field artillery, and indeed we hear little of guns, except siege-cannon, during the whole period of the Civil War. English military writers of the period rarely make much of artillery in a pitched battle. They recommend indeed that the enemy's guns should be captured by a rush as early as possible, and they generally agree that cannon should be posted on an eminence63, since a ball travels with greater force downhill than uphill. On the other hand, it was objected even to this simple rule that if guns were pointed64 downhill there was always the risk of the shot rolling out of the muzzle65, so that in truth the gunner seems to have been sadly destitute66 of fixed principles for his guidance in action.
The neglect of field artillery in England is the more remarkable67 inasmuch as English gun-founders enjoyed a high reputation in Europe. The cannon of that day were necessarily heavy and cumbrous, since the bad quality and slow combustion68 of the powder made great length imperative69; but there was no excuse for not imitating the light field-pieces of Gustavus Adolphus. The probable reason for the backwardness of the English was the peculiar organisation of the Dutch artillery, which gave no opening for the instruction of English gunners in the school of the Low Countries. Nevertheless there was a distinct drill for the working of guns, with thirteen words of command for the wielding70 of ladle and sponge and rammer71. A gun's crew consisted of three men—the gunner, his mate, often called a matross, and an odd man who gave general assistance; and the number of little refinements72 that are enjoined73 upon them show that the artillerymen took abundant pride in themselves. Thus the withdrawal74 of the least quantity of powder with the ladle after loading was esteemed75 a "foul76 fault for a gunner to commit," while the spilling even of a few grains on the ground was severely77 reprobated, "it being a thing uncomely for a gunner to trample79 powder under his[218] feet." Lastly, every gunner was exhorted80 to "set forth81 himself with as comely78 a posture82 and grace as he can possibly; for the agility83 and comely carriage of a man in handling his ladle and sponge is such an outward action as doth give great content to the standers-by." Nevertheless artillerymen seem nowhere, and least of all in England, to have been very popular. They had an evil reputation all over Europe for profane84 swearing, a failing which is attributed by one writer to their enforced commerce with infernal substances, but which was more probably due to the fact that, being less perfectly85 organised than other branches of the army, they were less amenable86 to rigid87 discipline.
But if the gunners were but a casual and ill-administered force, much more so were the drivers. Over a thousand draught88-horses were collected for the general use of the New Model, but how many, if any, of these were set apart for the artillery, it is impossible to say. Ordinary waggoners with their teams were impressed or hired to haul the guns, and it is recorded that the hackney-coachmen of London performed the duty more than once. The chief use of the escort of infantry was therefore to prevent the drivers from running away. It is doubtful whether the guns themselves travelled on four wheels or on two, contemporary drawings showing instances of both; but in either case there was no approach to what is now called the limber, the horses being harnessed simply to the trail.[169] The ammunition89 again was transported in ordinary waggons90, the powder being indeed occasionally made up into cartridges91, but more often carried simply in barrels which were unloaded behind the gun when it was posted for action. It was the function of the odd man of the gun's crew to cover up the powder-barrel between each discharge of the gun, to avert93 the danger of a general explosion. In fact, one principal link alone connects the artillery of the New Model with the artillery of to-day, the gun-carriages were painted of a fair lead-colour.
[219]
Lastly we come to the Engineers, a corps which is more obscure to us even than the Artillery. Even in the days of the Plantagenets the English kings had taken Cornish miners with them for their sieges; and in the war of Dutch Independence Yorkshire colliers were specially94 employed for the digging of mines. But, although by the middle of the sixteenth century the Germans had already organised a corps of sappers,[170] no such thing existed in England. In truth, the British were not fond of the spade. The English indeed handled it often enough under Vere and his successors, while the Scots, though sorely against the grain, were forced to do the like by Gustavus Adolphus. But considering the schools wherein the British were trained, nothing is more remarkable in the Civil War than the neglect of field-fortification and the extreme inefficiency95 with which at any rate the earlier sieges were conducted. It is significant that the pioneers,[171] who are the only men that we hear of in connection with the unorganised corps of engineers, were the very scum of the army, and that degradation96 to be "an abject97 pioneer" was a regular punishment for hardened offenders98. It is still more significant that the principal engineers of the New Model Army bear not English but foreign names.
So much for the various branches of the military service: it remains99 to say a few words of the Army as a whole. Of the organisation of what would now be called the War Department, it is extremely difficult to speak. There was a parliamentary Committee of the Army, which seems to have enjoyed at first an intermittent100 and later a continuous existence, and which was entrusted101 with the general direction of its affairs and in particular with the business of recruiting. There were also Treasurers102 at War, who were charged with the financial administration, and there was the already venerable Office of Ordnance103, which was responsible for arms and equipment. Speaking generally, though the functions of the [220]Committee and of the treasurers seemed to have overlapped104 each other at various points, the military administration seems to have tended to the following allocation of responsibility: that the Committee of the Army took charge of the men, the Office of Ordnance of the weapons and stores, and the Treasurers at War of the finance, while the Commander-in-Chief was answerable for the discipline of the Army.
Passing next to purely105 military organisation, which of course fell within the province of the Lord-General, it is to be remarked that the makers106 and commanders of the New Model knew of no better distribution of command than under the three heads of Infantry, Cavalry, and Train. There was no such thing as a division comprehending a proportion of all three arms under the control of a divisional commander; and though we do hear frequently of brigades, the word signifies merely the temporary grouping of certain corps under a single officer, rarely an essential part of the general organisation. The subjoined list gives a tolerable idea of the allotment of functions among the members of the staff. It is only necessary to add that all orders of the commander-in-chief were issued through the sergeant-major-general, distributed by him to the sergeant-majors or, as they are now called, majors of the different regiments, and by the sergeant-majors in their turn to the sergeants of every company and the corporals of every troop.
Commander-in-Chief.
His Excellency Sir Thomas Fairfax, Knight107, Captain-General.
Headquarter Staff.
(Chief of the Staff)—Major-General[172] Skippon.
Commissary-General of the Musters108.—Comm.-Gen. Stone (with two deputies).
Commissary-General of Victuals109.—Comm.-Gen. Orpin.
[221] Commissary-General of Horse Provisions.—Comm.-Gen. Cooke.
(Transport) Waggon-Master-General.—Master Richardson.
(Intelligence) Scout-Master-General.—Major Watson.
(Military Chest) Eight Treasurers at War (civilians110),
(with one deputy).
Judge Advocate-General.—John Mills (civilian).
(Medical) Physicians to the Army.—Doctors Payne and Strawhill.
" Apothecary111 to the Army.—Master Web.
" Chaplain to the Army.—Master Boles.
(Military Secretary) Secretary to the Council of War.—Mr.
John Rushworth (civilian), with two clerks.
(Aides-de-Camp) Messengers to the Army.—Mr. Richard
Chadwell, Mr. Constantine Heath.
Foot.[173]
Major-General Skippon.
Quartermaster-General Spencer.
Assistant-Quartermaster-General Master Robert Wolsey.
Adjutant-General Lieutenant-Colonel Gray.
Marshal-General Captain Wykes.
Ten regiments of foot; each regiment of ten companies; each company of one hundred and twenty men, exclusive of the officers.
Regiment. Colonel. Regiment. Colonel.
1st. { Sir Thomas Fairfax. 5th. Harley.
Lieut.-Colonel Jackson. 6th. Montague.
2nd. { Major-General Skippon. 7th. Lloyd.
Lieut.-Colonel Frances. 8th. Pickering.
3rd. Sir Hardress Waller. 9th. Fortescue.
4th. Hammond. 10th. Farringdon.
Horse.
Lieutenant-General Oliver Cromwell.
Commissary-General Henry Ireton.
Quartermaster-General Fincher.
Adjutants-General Captains Fleming and Evelyn.
Marshal-General Captain Laurence.
Mark-Master General Mr. Francis Child.
Eleven regiments of horse; each of six troops; each troop of one hundred men, besides officers.
[222]
Regiment. Colonel. Regiment. Colonel.
1st. { Sir Thomas Fairfax. 6th. Lieut.-General Cromwell.
Major Disbrowe. 7th. Rich.
2nd. Butler. 8th. Sir Robert Pye.
3rd. Sheffield. 9th. Whalley.
4th. Fleetwood. 10th. Graves.
5th. Rossiter. 11th. Comm.-General Ireton.
The captain-general's bodyguard112 consisted of one troop, taken from his regiment of horse, under Colonel Doyley.
Dragoons.
Colonel Okey.
Ten companies each of one hundred men, besides officers.
Train.
Lieut.-General of the Ordnance Lieut.-General Hammond.
Controller of the Ordnance Captain Deane.
Engineer General Peter Manteau van Dalem.
Engineer Extraordinary Captain Hooper.
Chief Engineer Eval Tercene.
Engineers Master Lyon, Master Tomlinson.
Master Gunner of the Field Francis Furin.
Captain of Pioneers Captain Cheese.
A Commissary of Ammunition
A Commissary of the Draught Horses
Two Regiments of Infantry { Colonel Rainborough's.
{ Colonel Weldon's.
Two companies of Firelocks.
April 30.
The regiments of the New Model were not yet complete when Fairfax received orders from the Committee of Both Kingdoms to march westward113 to the relief of Taunton. It is extraordinary that this presumptuous114 body of civilians, even after it had provided the General with an efficient army, still took upon itself to direct the plan of campaign. It is still more extraordinary that Fairfax, who had disregarded it before Marston Moor115, should now have meekly116 obeyed. Charles, whose chief hopes rested in a junction117 with the gallant and victorious118 Montrose, was actually moving northward119 to meet him while Fairfax was[223] tramping away to Taunton. Nay120, even after Taunton had been relieved, the sage121 Committee could think of no better employment for the New Model than to set it down to the siege of Oxford122. Fatuity123 could hardly go further than this. There were in the field on both sides four armies in all, ranged alternately, so to speak, in layers from north to south. Northernmost of all was Montrose, below him in Yorkshire lay Leven with the Scots, south of Leven was Charles, and south of Charles the New Model. And yet the Committee proposed to keep Fairfax inactive before Oxford while Charles and Montrose crushed Leven between hammer and anvil124.
May 9.
A brilliant victory of Montrose at Auldearn brought matters to a crisis. Leven was compelled to retreat into Westmoreland; and the Scots insisted that Fairfax must break up from before Oxford and move up towards the King. Charles, meanwhile, with his usual indecision had suspended his march northward for the sake of capturing Leicester, and was now lying at Daventry, uncertain whither to go next. Fairfax called a council of war, which decided125 to seek out the enemy and fight him wherever he could be found, and, more important still, requested the appointment of Cromwell to the vacant post of lieutenant-general. The Parliament meanwhile had come to its senses, and resolved that the General should henceforth conduct his own campaign without the advice of a committee of civilians. Having done so, it could hardly refuse to sanction the return of Cromwell. He was therefore summoned to headquarters; and Fairfax began to work in earnest. So energetic were his movements, when once the paralysing hand of the Committee was withdrawn126, that the Royalists at once jumped to the conclusion that "Ironside" had rejoined the army.
He had not yet rejoined it, and yet the Royalists were right, for it was his spirit, the spirit of discipline, that was abroad in the army. The New Model was by no means perfect when it marched from Windsor at the end of April 1645. The old failings of insubordination,[224] desertion, and plunder128, natural enough among a body of men largely recruited by impressment, showed themselves abundantly at the outset of the march to Oxford, but they were put down with a strong hand, not by preaching, but by hanging. Nor was it by severity only that Fairfax brought men to their duty. According to custom, every regiment was told off in succession to furnish the rearguard, but when the turn of Fairfax's regiment came, the men claimed that, being the General's own, they had a right to a permanent place in the van. Fairfax said nothing, but simply jumped off his horse and tramped along in the midst of them in the rearguard; and after this there were no more quarrels over precedence. After a month in the field the newspapers could report that oaths, quarrelling and drunkenness were unknown in the New Model. "Yea, but let Cromwell be called back," they added; and before long this too was done. At six o'clock on the morning of the 13th of June, while Fairfax was sitting at a council of war, Cromwell marched into the camp at Kislingbury at the head of his regiment. It was but a small reinforcement of six hundred troopers, but as they rode in a cheer rose from the cavalry which was taken up by the whole army, as the word ran round the camp that Noll was come.
June 14.
Next day was fought the battle of Naseby. It was not a well-managed fight. After considerable shifting of position, so much prolonged that Rupert came to the conclusion that Fairfax wished to decline an engagement, the New Model Army was finally drawn127 up on the plateau of a ridge92 about a mile to the north-east of Naseby village. It lay behind the brow of a hill which slopes down somewhat steeply to a valley below called the Broadmoor, and was formed according to the usual fashion of the time. Six regiments of three thousand six hundred horse formed the right wing, seven thousand infantry under Skippon made up the centre, two thousand four hundred more horse under Ireton made the left. Ireton's flank was covered by a hedge,[225] which by Cromwell's direction was lined with dismounted dragoons.
The disposition129 of the Royalists was of the same kind, though their force was of little more than half the strength of the New Model. The right wing of cavalry was under Rupert, the centre of infantry under old Sir Jacob Astley, the left wing of cavalry under Sir Marmaduke Langdale. Each army held two or three regiments of infantry in reserve.
Rupert, conspicuous130 in a red cloak, opened the action by a rapid advance with his horse against Fairfax's left. Ireton thereupon drew over the brow of the hill to meet him, and Rupert, evidently rather astonished to find so large a force in front of him, incontinently halted. Ireton then made the fatal mistake of halting likewise. Whether he was hampered131 by the ground or unequal to the task of handling so large a body of horse, is uncertain; but, whatever the reason, his wing was in disorder132, and instead of continuing the advance he began to correct his dispositions133. Rupert at once seized the moment to attack. A few divisions under Ireton's immediate leadership charged gallantly134 enough and held their own until driven back by Rupert's supports, but the rest hung back, and Rupert pressing on, as was his wont135, scattered136 them in confusion. Ireton, losing his head, instead of trying to rally them, plunged137 down with his few squadrons on the Royalist infantry, was beaten back, wounded and taken prisoner; and in fact the left wing of the New Model was for the time completely overthrown138. Away went Rupert in hot pursuit with his troopers at his heels for a mile beyond the battlefield, and galloping139 up to the park of Parliamentary baggage, summoned it to surrender. He was answered by a volley of musketry, and then too late he recollected140 himself and rode back to the true scene of action.
In the centre also matters again had gone ill with the Parliament. Skippon was wounded early in the day, and though he refused to leave the field was unable[226] actively141 to direct the engagement. Either his dispositions were incomplete, or his colonels were helpless without him; but the left centre, its flank exposed by Ireton's defeat, gave way and in spite of all the efforts of the officers could not be rallied. Fortunately Fairfax's regiment on the right centre stood firm; and the steadiness of three regiments in the reserve enabled the Parliamentary infantry to maintain the struggle.
But it was on the right that the best soldier in the field was stationed, and his presence counted for very much. He too was hampered by bad ground, patches of gorse and a rabbit-warren on his extreme right preventing all possibility of a general advance of his wing. But instead of halting like Ireton he took the initiative in attack. The leftmost troops under Whalley, having good ground before them, at once moved down, fired their pistols at close range,[174] and fell in with the sword. Langdale's horse met them gallantly enough, but were beaten back and retired142 in rear of the King's reserve, where they rallied. But Whalley's supports came up quickly to second him, and meanwhile the rest of Cromwell's wing came up as best it could over the broken ground, and falling on the opposing bodies of Royalist horse routed all in succession. The Royalists retreated for a quarter of a mile and rallied; and Cromwell, detaching part of his horse to watch them, rode down with three regiments against the King's reserve of horse. Charles, to do him justice, bore himself gallantly enough, but some one gave the unlucky word, "To the right turn—march!" whereupon the whole of his men turned tail and sweeping143 the King along with them joined their beaten comrades in rear. Thither144 also presently came Rupert with such a following of blown and beaten horses as he could collect. Ireton's wing had rallied, and was pressing so close on his rear that he dared not stop; and Rupert's foolish[227] and premature145 pursuit had squandered146 his squadrons as effectually as a defeat.
The whole of Charles's army was now beaten or dispersed147 except his centre, and against this the whole force of the Parliamentary army was now directed. Okey, who commanded the dragoons, finding the ground clear before him, made his men mount and attacked it in flank; Fairfax's regiment of foot engaged it in front, and Ireton's rallied troopers in rear. All soon laid down their arms excepting a single battalion,[175] which stood alone with incredible courage and resolution till it was fairly overwhelmed. Even so, however, Fairfax dared not advance further till he had reformed his whole line of battle. But the Royalists could not face a second attack; they turned and fled; and the Parliament's cavalry pursued the fugitives148 for fourteen miles, capturing the whole of the King's artillery, his baggage, and practically his entire army. It was a decisive victory though not a very glorious one. But for Cromwell, who alone after Skippon's fall seems to have kept his wits about him and his men in hand, Naseby would probably have added one more to the indecisive battles of the Civil War.
1646.
Sept. 13.
Nevertheless the New Model had won its first action, and Fairfax now started on a campaign to the west, which did not end until he had penetrated149 through Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall, and crushed Royalism under foot even to the Land's End. It was a long march of incessant150 and at first of severe fighting, which taxed the mettle151 even of his best soldiers, but the army gathered strength, in spite of constant hardships, in its swift progress from victory to victory, and by the summer of 1646 it had finished the work begun at Naseby and was virtually master of England. Meanwhile the persistent152 folly153 of the King had raised it from a partisan to a national army. Charles, who had no[228] spark of patriotic154 feeling in him, had from the first striven not only to set nationality against nationality within the British Isles155, but had appealed to foreigners from France, Lorraine, and Holland to uphold his rights. All these transactions had been revealed by the capture of his baggage at Naseby; and his defiance156 of all the insular157 prejudice of the English damaged him unspeakably even with those who were most sincerely attached to his cause. Margaret of Anjou was not yet forgotten; and if men coupled Charles's name with hers, it was no more than he deserved. Now, however, he was beaten, beaten on every side. In the first six months of 1645 Montrose, perhaps the most brilliant natural military genius disclosed by the Civil War, had scored success after success with a handful of Scots and Irish. A woman in emotion and instability, a man in courage, and a magician in leadership, he was an ideal leader for such untameable, combative158 spirits, the stuff of which Dundonalds are made. Yet Montrose's work had been undone159 at Philiphaugh, and Charles's last hope was gone. A few more ineffectual struggles to divide England against herself, and he was to be purged160 away as a public enemy by the ever victorious army.
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ordinance
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| n.法令；条令；条例 | |
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incompetent
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| adj.无能力的，不能胜任的 | |
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vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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monk
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| n.和尚，僧侣，修道士 | |
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gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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straightforward
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| adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的 | |
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disinterested
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| adj.不关心的，不感兴趣的 | |
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abounding
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| adj.丰富的，大量的v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的现在分词 ) | |
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jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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adviser
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| n.劝告者，顾问 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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16
ordinances
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| n.条例，法令( ordinance的名词复数 ) | |
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17
pending
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| prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的 | |
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18
expiration
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| n.终结，期满，呼气，呼出物 | |
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19
regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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20
regiments
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| （军队的）团( regiment的名词复数 )； 大量的人或物 | |
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21
collapse
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| vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷 | |
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22
hewing
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| v.（用斧、刀等）砍、劈( hew的现在分词 )；砍成；劈出；开辟 | |
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23
mutinous
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| adj.叛变的，反抗的；adv.反抗地，叛变地；n.反抗，叛变 | |
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24
tact
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| n.机敏，圆滑，得体 | |
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25
curb
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| n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制 | |
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26
deferred
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| adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从 | |
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27
grievance
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| n.怨愤，气恼，委屈 | |
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28
recalcitrant
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| adj.倔强的 | |
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29
submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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30
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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31
subdue
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| vt.制服，使顺从，征服；抑制，克制 | |
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32
irony
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| n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄 | |
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33
musket
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| n.滑膛枪 | |
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34
sprightlier
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活泼的( sprightly的比较级 ) | |
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35
corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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36
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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37
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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38
perpetuate
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| v.使永存，使永记不忘 | |
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39
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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40
sketch
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| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
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41
organisation
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| n.组织，安排，团体，有机休 | |
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42
infantry
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| n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
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43
lieutenants
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|
| n.陆军中尉( lieutenant的名词复数 )；副职官员；空军；仅低于…官阶的官员 | |
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44
sergeants
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| 警官( sergeant的名词复数 )； （美国警察）警佐； （英国警察）巡佐； 陆军（或空军）中士 | |
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45
partisan
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| adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒 | |
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46
complement
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| n.补足物，船上的定员；补语；vt.补充，补足 | |
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47
trumpet
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| n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘 | |
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48
superseded
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| [医]被代替的，废弃的 | |
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49
brace
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|
| n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备 | |
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50
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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51
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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52
treatise
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| n.专著；(专题)论文 | |
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53
scour
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| v.搜索；擦，洗，腹泻，冲刷 | |
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54
mobility
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| n.可动性，变动性，情感不定 | |
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55
abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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56
bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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57
artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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58
tawny
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| adj.茶色的，黄褐色的；n.黄褐色 | |
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59
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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60
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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61
muskets
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| n.火枪，（尤指）滑膛枪( musket的名词复数 ) | |
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62
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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63
eminence
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| n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家 | |
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64
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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65
muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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66
destitute
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|
| adj.缺乏的；穷困的 | |
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67
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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68
combustion
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| n.燃烧；氧化；骚动 | |
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69
imperative
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| n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的 | |
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70
wielding
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| 手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的现在分词 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响） | |
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71
rammer
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| n.撞锤；夯土机；拨弹机；夯 | |
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72
refinements
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| n.（生活）风雅；精炼( refinement的名词复数 )；改良品；细微的改良；优雅或高贵的动作 | |
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73
enjoined
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| v.命令( enjoin的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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74
withdrawal
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| n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销 | |
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75
esteemed
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|
| adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 )；敬重；认为；以为 | |
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76
foul
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|
| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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77
severely
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|
| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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78
comely
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|
| adj.漂亮的，合宜的 | |
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79
trample
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| vt.踩，践踏；无视，伤害，侵犯 | |
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80
exhorted
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| v.劝告，劝说( exhort的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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81
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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82
posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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83
agility
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| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
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84
profane
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|
| adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污 | |
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85
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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86
amenable
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|
| adj.经得起检验的；顺从的；对负有义务的 | |
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87
rigid
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|
| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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88
draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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89
ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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90
waggons
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| 四轮的运货马车( waggon的名词复数 )； 铁路货车； 小手推车 | |
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91
cartridges
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| 子弹( cartridge的名词复数 )； （打印机的）墨盒； 录音带盒； （唱机的）唱头 | |
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92
ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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93
avert
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| v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等) | |
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94
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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95
inefficiency
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| n.无效率，无能；无效率事例 | |
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96
degradation
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| n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变 | |
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97
abject
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| adj.极可怜的，卑屈的 | |
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98
offenders
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| n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物） | |
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99
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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100
intermittent
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| adj.间歇的，断断续续的 | |
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101
entrusted
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| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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102
treasurers
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| （团体等的）司库，财务主管( treasurer的名词复数 ) | |
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103
ordnance
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| n.大炮，军械 | |
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104
overlapped
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|
| _adj.重叠的v.部分重叠( overlap的过去式和过去分词 )；（物体）部份重叠；交叠；（时间上）部份重叠 | |
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105
purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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106
makers
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| n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式） | |
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107
knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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108
musters
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| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的第三人称单数 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
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109
victuals
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| n.食物；食品 | |
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110
civilians
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| 平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓 | |
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111
apothecary
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| n.药剂师 | |
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112
bodyguard
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| n.护卫，保镖 | |
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113
westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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114
presumptuous
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| adj.胆大妄为的，放肆的，冒昧的，冒失的 | |
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115
moor
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| n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊 | |
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116
meekly
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| adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地 | |
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117
junction
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| n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站 | |
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118
victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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119
northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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120
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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121
sage
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| n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的 | |
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122
Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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123
fatuity
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| n.愚蠢，愚昧 | |
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124
anvil
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| n.铁钻 | |
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125
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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126
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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127
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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128
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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129
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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130
conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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131
hampered
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| 妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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132
disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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133
dispositions
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| 安排( disposition的名词复数 )； 倾向； （财产、金钱的）处置； 气质 | |
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134
gallantly
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| adv. 漂亮地，勇敢地，献殷勤地 | |
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135
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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136
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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137
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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138
overthrown
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| adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词 | |
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139
galloping
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| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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140
recollected
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| adj.冷静的；镇定的；被回忆起的；沉思默想的v.记起，想起( recollect的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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actively
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| adv.积极地，勤奋地 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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143
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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144
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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145
premature
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| adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的 | |
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146
squandered
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| v.（指钱，财产等）浪费，乱花( squander的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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147
dispersed
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| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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148
fugitives
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| n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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149
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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150
incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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151
mettle
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| n.勇气，精神 | |
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persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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153
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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patriotic
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| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
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isles
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| 岛( isle的名词复数 ) | |
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defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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insular
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| adj.岛屿的，心胸狭窄的 | |
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158
combative
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| adj.好战的；好斗的 | |
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undone
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| a.未做完的，未完成的 | |
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160
purged
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| 清除（政敌等）( purge的过去式和过去分词 )； 涤除（罪恶等）； 净化（心灵、风气等）； 消除（错事等）的不良影响 | |
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