At the end of 1642, Sir Ralph Hopton's Royalist army fell back from Devon across the River Tamar into Cornwall. In early January 1643, Colonel Ruthin, the Parliamentarian governor of Plymouth, attempted to secure his position by attacking Saltash on the Cornish side of the Tamar. Ruthin placed artillery on the Devon side and brought warships into the river to bombard Saltash. Infantry were then sent across in boats, but the Parliamentarian attack was thrown back. The arrival of reinforcements from Somerset and Dorset finally enabled Ruthin to overwhelm the Royalists and force the crossing of the Tamar. The Royalists abandoned the line of the Tamar and withdrew to Bodmin. Ruthin was eager to add to his success before the Earl of Stamford arrived to supersede him as commander of Parliamentarian forces in the south-west. He advanced into Cornwall and concentrated his forces at Liskeard.
On 17 January, three Parliamentarian warships laden with weapons and money were driven by storms into the Royalist port of Falmouth. This windfall enabled Sir Ralph Hopton to re-equip the Royalist army and even to pay his soldiers in advance. Morale was high as the Royalists marched to Lostwithiel and quartered at Lord Mohun's estate at Boconnoc.
Braddock Down, Cornwall, 19 January 1643
Sir Ralph Hopton and the leaders of the Cornish Royalists were aware that Cornwall was threatened by two Parliamentarian armies: Colonel Ruthin's force at Liskeard and Lord Stamford's contingent marching into northern Cornwall. At a Council of War at Boconnoc near Lostwithiel on 18 January, the Royalist commanders decided to march immediately against Ruthin before he could join forces with Stamford. Ruthin was confident of victory over the Royalists and wanted to take all the glory for himself. Against orders, he marched out to attack the Royalists before Lord Stamford and his reinforcements arrived at Liskeard.
On the morning of 19 January, Hopton's Royalists set out from Boconnoc towards Liskeard. Around noon, the vanguard of dragoons sighted Ruthin's army of 4,000 troops drawn up at the crest of a ridge on the eastern side of Braddock Down. Hopton deployed his forces on a similar ridge within musket range of the Parliamentarians. The large force of infantry in the centre was commanded by Sir Bevil Grenville, the wings were protected by a few cavalry and dragoons. Hopton had two small field guns which he concealed by placing horsemen in front of them. For two hours, the armies skirmished and exchanged volleys of musket fire — neither side wishing to come down from its strong defensive position to attack the other. Eventually, after leading prayers at the head of each company in turn, Hopton unmasked his field guns and ordered an attack. The guns fired a salvo as Grenville led the Cornish infantry down the slope then uphill against the Royalist line. Both wings of cavalry simultaneously charged. The Parliamentarian musketeers fired off a single volley against the advancing Royalists then Ruthin's whole army turned and fled.
The Parliamentarians ran back to Liskeard where the people of the town rose up against them. The pursuing Royalists marched in unopposed. Over a thousand prisoners were taken along with five cannon and a store of arms and ammunition. The victory established Sir Ralph Hopton as undisputed leader of the Cornish Royalists.
Launceston, Cornwall, 23 April 1643
Sir Ralph Hopton followed up his victory at Braddock Down with an immediate advance towards Devon. A column was sent against the Earl of Stamford at Launceston, forcing him to turn back and retreat to Tavistock. On 22 January, Hopton's main force stormed Saltash, capturing the town and driving Colonel Ruthin back into Plymouth. The Royalists were not equipped to mount a full-scale siege of Plymouth so blockaded the city and attacked outlying garrisons; the poet Sidney Godolphin, serving as a volunteer in Hopton's army, was killed at a skirmish near Okehampton on 8 February. The Royalist occupation of towns around Plymouth meant that Hopton's forces were too widely scattered to operate effectively and on 22 February, after the Royalists were driven out of Modbury, Hopton abandoned his invasion of Devon and fell back into Cornwall.
On 28 February, Hopton and the Earl of Stamford agreed to a local truce in Devon and Cornwall, during which both sides took the opportunity to reorganise their forces.
When the truce expired on 22 April 1643, the Parliamentarians took the initiative with an attack on the Cornish army which was mustering at Launceston. In the absence of the Earl of Stamford, who was suffering from gout, the Parliamentarian army of 3,500 foot and five troops of horse was commanded by Major-General James Chudleigh. Hopton had taken up a strong defensive position on Beacon Hill outside Launceston. He was still awaiting the arrival of several contingents when Chudleigh approached Launceston on the morning of 23 April. Chudleigh's initial assault drove back the Royalist musketeers posted at the foot of the hill, but the steady arrival of reinforcements throughout the day enabled Hopton to hold the position against further attacks. By evening, the Cornish army was fully assembled and Hopton prepared to counter-attack. He regrouped his infantry into three separate columns commanded by himself, Sir John Berkeley and Major-General Basset, then charged the main body of the Parliamentarians. Weakened and exhausted from losses sustained during the day, the Parliamentarians fell back in disorder. Fortunately for Chudleigh, Sir John Merrick had arrived that evening with 700 London Greycoats as reinforcements. At the head of the Greycoats, Chudleigh covered the retreat, personally harnessing the oxen to save his artillery. The explosion of a powder wagon discouraged the Royalists from further pursuit, allowing the Parliamentarians to fall back into Devon.
Sourton Down, Devon, 25 April 1643
Sir Ralph Hopton and the Cornish army pushed forward towards Okehampton as the Parliamentarians retreated from Launceston. Hopton was determined to strike a decisive blow before the enemy had time to regroup, but he moved too quickly into Devon, without proper reconnaissance. As Hopton drew closer to Okehampton, Major-General Chudleigh led a force of cavalry to ambush the Royalists at Sourton Down on the edge of Dartmoor. Captain Drake led a charge against the advance guard of Royalist dragoons, who panicked and fell back in disorder, colliding with the troops behind. The Parliamentarians pressed home their attack and half the Royalist army was routed. Lord Mohun and Sir Bevil Grenville made a stand to defend the artillery while Hopton sent orders to Sir Nicholas Slanning to bring up the rearguard.
The Parliamentarian attack was eventually driven back and the Royalists took up defensive positions among ancient earthworks on the moor. Reinforced by infantry from Okehampton, Chudleigh continued to threaten the Royalists. As sporadic skirmishing continued into the night, a violent tempest broke out over the battlefield, drenching the combatants and adding to the confusion and terror. The Royalists fled, leaving behind weapons, stores and gunpowder. In the confusion, Sir Ralph Hopton's portmanteau was also captured. It contained letters from the King ordering the Cornish army to join forces with the Earl of Hertford and Prince Maurice in Somerset.
Stratton, Cornwall, 16 May 1643
Aware of the Royalist plan to combine the armies of Sir Ralph Hopton and Lord Hertford, the Earl of Stamford mustered all available Parliamentarian forces at Torrington in Devon and prepared to march against Hopton before he could rendezvous with Hertford. On 15 May, Stamford sent the bulk of his cavalry under Sir George Chudleigh (father of James Chudleigh) to seize Bodmin, then marched into Cornwall with a force of 5,400 foot, 200 horse and 13 guns. He marched to Stratton and took up a strong defensive position on a hill now known as Stamford Hill to the north of the town. With many of his troops on garrison duty, Hopton could muster only 2,400 foot and 500 horse to counter Stamford's invasion of Cornwall, but despite being outnumbered two-to-one, Hopton was determined to take advantage of the absence of the Parliamentarian cavalry and attack Stamford's encampment.
The Parliamentarians were positioned around an Iron Age hill fort on the summit of Stamford Hill. The eastern slope of the hill was thickly wooded and too steep for an assault. When Hopton approached early in the morning of 16 May, he divided his infantry into four columns of about 600 men each to attack the hill from different directions in a great arc. Hopton and Lord Mohun led the first column from the south, Major-General Basset attacked from the north, Sir Bevil Grenville and Sir Nicholas Slanning led their columns from the west. The Parliamentarians were forced to defend the hill with their backs to the impregnable eastern slope. Hopton's 500 cavalry were kept in reserve.
The assault began at dawn. The Cornish infantry fought their way relentlessly up the steep slopes in the face of determined resistance from the Parliamentarian defenders. Neither side gained a clear advantage and by mid-afternoon the Royalists were running short of ammunition. At this crucial point, Major-General James Chudleigh led a counter-attack of Parliamentarian pikemen in a downhill charge that smashed deep into Sir Bevil Grenville's column. Grenville himself was knocked over, but Sir John Berkeley rallied the Royalist musketeers and made a desperate counter-charge that turned the tide of the battle, inspiring the Royalists to greater efforts. Chudleigh was taken prisoner and the Parliamentarians began to give way. Finally, between three and four o'clock in the afternoon, the four Royalist columns converged near the top of the hill. The Parliamentarian line collapsed as the Royalists pushed on to the summit.
The Parliamentarians fled, leaving 300 dead and 1,700 prisoners. The Royalists captured thirteen cannon and a quantity of gunpowder, ammunition and provisions. Hopton's victory secured Cornwall for the King. The Earl of Stamford fled to Barnstaple and then to Exeter; Sir George Chudleigh and the Parliamentarian cavalry abandoned Bodmin and retreated into Devon. The Parliamentarians maintained garrsions at Plymouth, Exeter, Bideford and Barnstaple but had no effective field army in Devon. Chudleigh's son, Major-General James Chudleigh who was taken prisoner at Stratton, defected to the Royalists. Blockaded at Exeter, the Earl of Stamford laid the blame for the defeat at Stratton on Chudleigh.
Lansdown, Roundway Down and Bristol >
Sources:
A.H. Burne & P. Young, The Great Civil War, a military history, 1959
S.R. Gardiner, History of the Great Civil War vol. i, 1888
Peter Gaunt, The Cromwellian Gazetteer, 1987
C.V. Wedgwood, The King's War, 1958
Links:
Braddock Down : Stratton : UK Battlefields Resource Centre