The Works of Thomas Carlyle/Volume 6/Letter 16

by Thomas Carlyle

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LETTERS XVI—XVIII

In the very hours while Cromwell was storming the sandhill near Gainsborough ‘by some tracks,’ honourable gentlemen at St. Stephen’s were voting him Governor of the Isle of Ely. Ely in the heart of the Fens, a place of great military capabilities, is much troubled with ‘corrupt ministers,’ with ‘corrupt trainbands,’ and understood to be in a perilous state; wherefore they nominate Cromwell to take charge of it.^[1] We understand his own Family to be still resident in Ely.

The Parliament affairs, this Summer, have taken a bad course; and, except it be in the Eastern Association, look everywhere declining. They have lost Bristol, their footing in the Southwest and in the North is mostly gone; Essex’s Army has melted away, without any action of mark all Summer, except the loss of Hampden in a skirmish. In the beginning of August the King breaks out from Oxford, very clearly superior in force; goes to settle Bristol; and might thence, it was supposed, have marched direct to London, if he had liked. He decides on taking Gloucester with him before he quit those parts. The Parliament, in much extremity, calls upon the Scots for help; who, under conditions, will consent.

In these circumstances, it was rather thought a piece of heroism in our old friend Lord Kimbolton, or Mandevil, now become Earl of Manchester, to accept the command of the Eastern Association: he is nominated ‘Sergeant-Major of the Associated Counties,’ 10th August 1643; is to raise new force, infantry and cavalry; has four Colonels of Horse under him; Colonel Cromwell, who soon became his second in command, is one of them; Colonel Norton, whom we shall meet afterwards, is another.^[2] ‘The Associated Counties are busy listing,’ intimates the old Newspaper; ‘and so soon as their harvest is over, which for the present much retardeth them, the Earl of Manchester will have a very brave and considerable Army, to be a terror to the Northern Papists,’ Newarkers and Newcastles, ‘if they advance Southward.’^[3] When specially it was that Cromwell listed his celebrated body of Ironsides is of course not to be dated, though some do carelessly date it, as from the very ‘beginning of the War’; and in Bates^[4] and others are to be found various romantic details on the subject, which deserve no credit. Doubtless Cromwell, all along, in the many changes his body of men underwent, had his eye upon this object of getting good soldiers and dismissing bad; and managed the matter by common practical vigilance, not by theatrical clap-traps as Dr. Bates represents. Some months ago, it was said in the Newspapers, of Colonel Cromwell’s soldiers, ‘not a man swears but he pays his twelvepence’; no plundering, no drinking, disorder, or impiety allowed.^[5] We may fancy, in this new levy, as Manchester’s Lieutenant and Governor of Ely, when the whole force was again winnowed and sifted, he might complete the process, and see his Thousand Troopers ranked before him, worthy at last of the name of Ironsides. They were men that had the fear of God; and gradually lost all other fear. ‘Truly they were never beaten at all,’ says he.—Meanwhile:

1643

August 21st. The shops of London are all shut for certain days:^[6] Gloucester is in hot siege; nothing but the obdurate valour of a few men there prevents the King, with Prince Rupert, called also Prince Robert and Prince Robber, from riding roughshod over us.^[7] The City, with much emotion, ranks its Trained Bands under Essex; making up an Army for him, despatches him to relieve Gloucester. He marches on the 26th; steadily along, in spite of rainy weather and Prince Rupert; westward, westward: on the night of the tenth day, September 5th, the Gloucester people see his signal-fire flame up, amid the dark rain, ‘on the top of Presbury Hill’;—and understand that they shall live and not die. The King ‘fired his huts,’ and marched off without delay. He never again had any real chance of prevailing in this War. Essex, having relieved the West, returns steadily home again, the King’s forces hanging angrily on his rear; at Newbury in Berkshire, he had to turn round, and give them battle,—First Newbury Battle, 20th September 1643,—wherein he came off rather superior.^[8] Poor Lord Falkland, in his ‘clean shirt,’ was killed here. This steady march, to Gloucester and back again, by Essex, was the chief feat he did during the War; a considerable feat, and very characteristic of him, the slow-going, inarticulate, indignant, somewhat elephantine man.

 

Here, however, in the interim, are some glimpses of the Associated Counties; of the ‘listing’ that now goes on there, a thing attended with its own confused troubles.

LETTER XVI

Letter Sixteenth is not dated at all; but incidentally names its place: and by the tenor of it sufficiently indicates these autumn days, first days of September, as the approximate time. ‘Our handful,’ to be known by and by as Ironsides, they are ready and steady; but we see what an affair the listing of the rest is: cash itself like to be dreadfully short; men difficult to raise, worth little when raised;—add seizure of Malignant neighbours’ horses, proclamations, reclamations, and the Lawyers’ tongues, and all men’s, everywhere set wagging! Spring and Barrow are leading Suffolk Committee-men, whom we shall see again in that capacity. Of Captain Margery, elsewhere than in that Suffolk Troop now mustering, I know nothing; but Colonel Cromwell knows him, can recommend him as a man worth something: if Margery, to mount himself in this pressure, could ‘raise the horses from Malignants,’ in some measure,—were it not well?

 

TO MY NOBLE FRIENDS, SIR WILLIAM SPRING, KNIGHT AND BARONET, AND MAURICE BARROW, ESQUIRE: PRESENT THESE

“Cambridge,—September 1643.”

Gentlemen,—I have been now two days at Cambridge, in expectation to hear the fruit of your endeavours in Suffolk towards the public assistance. Believe it, you will hear of a storm in few days! You have no Infantry at all considerable; hasten your Horses;—a few hours may undo you, neglected.—I beseech you be careful what Captains of Horse you choose, what men be mounted: a few honest men are better than numbers. Some time they must have for exercise. If you choose godly honest men to be Captains of Horse, honest men will follow them; and they will be careful to mount such.

The King is exceeding strong in the West. If you be able to foil a force at the first coming of it, you will have reputation; and that is of great advantage in our affairs. God hath given it to our handful; let us endeavour to keep it. I had rather have a plain russet-coated Captain that knows what he fights for, and loves what he knows, than that which you call ‘a Gentleman’ and is nothing else. I honour a Gentleman that is so indeed!—

I understand Mr. Margery hath honest men will follow him: if so, be pleased to make use of him, it much concerns your good to have conscientious men. I understand that there is an Order for me to have 3,000l. out of the Association; and Essex hath sent their part, or near it. I assure you we need exceedingly. I hope to find your favour and respect. I protest, if it were for myself, I would not move you. That is all, from your faithful servant, OLIVER CROMWELL.

P.S. If you send such men as Essex hath sent, it will be to little purpose. Be pleased to take care of their march; and that such may come along with them as will be able to bring them to the main Body; and then I doubt not but we shall keep them, and make good use of them.—I beseech you, give countenance to Mr. Margery! Help him in raising his Troop; let him not want your favour in whatsoever is needful for promoting this work;—and command your servant. If he can raise the horses from Malignants, let him have your warrant: it will be of special service.^[9]

1. Commons Journals, iii. 186 (of 28th July 1643); ib. 153, 167, 180, etc. to 657 (9th October 1644).
2. Commons Journals, iii. 199, 200; Husbands, ii, 286, 276-8.
3. 29th August 1643, Cromwelliana, p. 7.
4. Elenchus Motuum.
5. May 1643, Cromwelliana, p. 5.
6. Rushworth, v. 291.
7. See Webb’s Bibliotheca Gloucestrensis, a Collection, etc. (Gloucester, 1825), or Corbet’s contemporary Siege of Gloucester (Somers Tracts, v. 296), which forms the main substance of Mr. Webb’s Book.
8. Clarendon, ii, 460; Whitlocke, p. 70.
9. Original in the possession of Dawson Turner, Esq., Great Yarmouth; printed in Papers of Norfolk Archæological Society (Norwich, January 1848).