Year 4 (1645) (1645) 4 4 Year Year
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Year 4 (1645) The Roundheads win! 1645 was a year of incredible victories for Parliament. But before that could happen certain Roundheads and one Royalist needed to go. Exit Bishop Laud. In January, the King’s favourite Bishop William Laud had his head cut off by Parliament. Exit Robert Devereux (3rd Earl of Essex) After the incredible victory at Marston Moor, things should have been a lot easier for the Roundheads. But the Earl of Essex had failed to beat the Royalists at the Second Battle of Newbury (back in October 1644). Essex didn’t lose the battle. It was a draw. But after the amazing victory at Marston Moor, it should have been an easy win. In April, Parliament sacked Essex and a lot of the commanding Roundhead officers. The law they passed to do this was called The Self-Denying Ordinance. Fairfax and Cromwell get new jobs Sir Thomas Fairfax had been put in charge of creating a different type of Roundhead army. Oliver Cromwell was his second- in-command. A New Kind of Army Fairfax and Cromwell’s army was called The New Model Army. It was a tougher, stricter more religious army than before, full of tough Puritans with new rules. The main difference between the New Model Army and the old Roundhead one was that anybody could become an officer if they were good at what they did. In the old Roundhead army, you tended to do well if you were rich and posh. The Battle of Naseby The New Model Army fought the King’s army at the Battle of Naseby in Northamptonshire on June 14th. King Charles I and Prince Rupert were present at the battle. It didn’t make a difference. The Royalists lost. How bad was the defeat for the king? Really bad. Worse than Marston Moor. The King had 7,000 men at the beginning of the battle. At the end of the battle, 1,000 of the King’s soldiers had been killed and 5,000 had been taken prisoner. Prince Rupert got away but the King was very nearly captured. So, surely that must have been the end of the war for the King? You’d think so, but the King was stubborn and carried on fighting for another 13 months. The King falls out with his best soldier. What didn’t help matters was that the King was losing friends. In June 1644, he had sent his eldest son Charles and his wife Queen Henrietta Maria to France for their own protection. In September 1645, he fell out with his best general Prince Rupert. Rupert was defending Cavalier Bristol from the New Model Army. Rupert was forced to surrender Bristol. The King heard about it and called Rupert a coward and a traitor and had him arrested. `e.