240 Readings in European History 315. A Puri- tan's ac- count of the battle of Edgehill. (From Nehemiah Wallington.) How God guided the bullets. were fought. A devout Puritan thus describes the mar- velous manner in which the Lord aided the raw troops in their fight against the king's army at Edgehill. 1642. October the 23d, being the Lord's day in the fore- noon, both the armies met in the midway between Banbury and Stratford-upon-Avon. And they had a very hot skir- mish, their ordnance playing very hot from twelve o'clock till three in the afternoon, and made a great slaughter, and then the main forces joined battle, both horse and foot, and had a furious skirmish on both sides, which continued for all that day. But that which I would take notice of is God's great mercy and providence, which was seen to his poor despised children, that although the enemy came traitorously and suddenly upon them, and unexpectedly, and four of our regiments falling from us, and our soldiers being a company of despised, inexperienced youths, which never used to lie in the fields on the cold ground before the enemy, they being strong, old, experienced soldiers. But herein we see God's great mercy, for all that to give us the victory ; for, as I hear, the slaughter was in all five thousand five hun- dred and seventeen ; but ten of the enemy's side were slain to one of ours. And observe God's wonderful works, for those that were slain of our side were mostly of them that ran away ; but those that stood most valiantly to it, they were most preserved ; so that you may see the Lord stands for them that stand for him. If I could but relate how admirably the hand of Provi- dence ordered our artillery and bullets for the destruction of the enemy, when a piece of ordnance was shot off, what a lane was made in their army i Oh, how God did guide the bullets [of the enemy also] (as I wrote afore at Southam), that some fell down before them, some grazed along, some bullets went over their heads, and some one side of them ! Oh, how seldom or never almost were they hurt that stood valiant to it, by their bullets ! You would stand and wonder. . . „
