Battle of Worcester

Part of Scottish Civil War and English Civil War

Oliver Cromwell at the Battle of Worcester

Date

3 September 1651

Location

Worcester, England
52°11′19.50″N 2°13′15″W / 52.1887500°N 2.22083°WCoordinates: 52°11′19.50″N 2°13′15″W / 52.1887500°N 2.22083°W

Result

Decisive Parliamentarian victory

Escape of Charles II
End of the English Civil War

Belligerents

Parliamentarians

Royalists

Commanders and leaders

Oliver Cromwell

Charles II

Strength

31,000

less than 16,000

Casualties and losses

200

3,000 killed, more than 10,000 prisoners

Decisive Parliamentarian victory

The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 at Worcester, England, and was the final battle of the English Civil War. Oliver Cromwell's Parliamentarian "New Model Army", 28,000 strong, defeated King Charles II's 16,000 Royalists, of whom the vast majority were Scottish.

The King was aided by Scottish allies and was attempting to regain the throne that had been lost when his father Charles I was executed. The commander of the Scots, David Leslie, supported the plan of fighting in Scotland, where royal support was strongest. Charles, however, insisted on making war in England. He calculated that Cromwell's campaign north of the River Forth would allow the main Scottish Royalist army which was south of the Forth to steal the march on the Roundhead New Model Army in a race to London. He hoped to rally not merely the old faithful Royalists, but also the overwhelming numerical strength of the English Presbyterians to his standard. He calculated that his alliance with the Scottish Presbyterian Covenanters and his signing of the Solemn League and Covenant would encourage English Presbyterians to support him against the English Independent faction which had grown in power over the last few years. The Royalist army was kept well in hand, no excesses were allowed, and in a week the Royalists covered 150 miles in marked contrast to the Duke of Hamilton's ill-fated expedition of 1648. On 8 August the troops were given a well-earned rest between Penrith and Kendal.

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Wikipedia