I confess, when I went into arms at the beginning of this war, I never
troubled myself to examine sides: I was glad to hear the drums beat
for soldiers, as if I had been a mere Swiss, that had not cared which
side went up or down, so I had my pay. I went as eagerly and blindly
about my business, as the meanest wretch that 'listed in the army; nor
had I the least compassionate thought for the miseries of my native
country, till after the fight at Edgehill. I had known as much, and
perhaps more than most in the army, what it was to have an enemy
ranging in the bowels of a kingdom; I had seen the most flourishing
provinces of Germany reduced to perfect deserts, and the voracious
Crabats, with inhuman barbarity, quenching the fires of the plundered
villages with the blood of the inhabitants. Whether this had hardened
me against the natural tenderness which I afterwards found return upon
me, or not, I cannot tell; but I reflected upon myself afterwards with
a great deal of trouble, for the unconcernedness of my temper at the
approaching ruin of my native country.
I was in the first army at York, as I have already noted, and, I must
confess, had the least diversion there that ever I found in an army in
my life. For when I was in Germany with the King of Sweden, we used
to see the king with the general officers every morning on horseback
viewing his men, his artillery, his horses, and always something going
forward. Here we saw nothing but courtiers and clergymen, bishops and
parsons, as busy as if the direction of the war had been in them. The
king was seldom seen among us, and never without some of them always
about him.
Those few of us that had seen the wars, and would have made a short
end of this for him, began to be very uneasy; and particularly a
certain nobleman took the freedom to tell the king that the clergy
would certainly ruin the expedition. The case was this: he would
have had the king have immediately marched into Scotland, and put the
matter to the trial of a battle; and he urged it every day. And the
king finding his reasons very good, would often be of his opinion; but
next morning he would be of another mind.
This gentleman was a man of conduct enough, and of unquestioned
courage, and afterwards lost his life for the king. He saw we had an
army of young stout fellows numerous enough; and though they had not
yet seen much service, he was for bringing them to action, that the
Scots might not have time to strengthen themselves, nor they have
time by idleness and sotting, the bane of soldiers, to make themselves
unfit for anything.
I was one morning in company with this gentleman; and as he was a warm
man, and eager in his discourse, "A pox of these priests," says he,
"'tis for them the king has raised this army, and put his friends to a
vast charge; and now we are come, they won't let us fight."
But I was afterwards convinced the clergy saw further into the matter
than we did. They saw the Scots had a better army than we had--bold
and ready, commanded by brave officers--and they foresaw that if we
fought we should be beaten, and if beaten, they were undone. And 'twas
very true, we had all been ruined if we had engaged.
It is true when we came to the pacification which followed, I confess
I was of the same mind the gentleman had been of; for we had better
have fought and been beaten than have made so dishonourable a treaty
without striking a stroke. This pacification seems to me to have laid
the scheme of all the blood and confusion which followed in the Civil
War. For whatever the king and his friends might pretend to do by
talking big, the Scots saw he was to be bullied into anything, and
that when it came to the push the courtiers never cared to bring it to
blows.
I have little or nothing to say as to action in this mock expedition.
The king was persuaded at last to march to Berwick; and, as I have
said already, a party of horse went out to learn news of the Scots,
and as soon as they saw them, ran away from them bravely.
This made the Scots so insolent that, whereas before they lay encamped
behind a river, and never showed themselves, in a sort of modest
deference to their king, which was the pretence of not being
aggressors or invaders, only arming in their own defence, now, having
been invaded by the English troops entering Scotland, they had what
they wanted. And to show it was not fear that retained them before,
but policy, now they came up in parties to our very gates, braving and
facing us every day.
I had, with more curiosity than discretion, put myself as a volunteer
at the head of one of our parties of horse, under my Lord Holland,
when they went out to discover the enemy; they went, they said, to see
what the Scots were a-doing.
We had not marched far, but our scouts brought word they had
discovered some horse, but could not come up to them, because a river
parted them. At the heels of these came another party of our men upon
the spur to us, and said the enemy was behind, which might be true for
aught we knew; but it was so far behind that nobody could see them,
and yet the country was plain and open for above a mile before us.
Hereupon we made a halt, and, indeed, I was afraid it would have been
an odd sort of a halt, for our men began to look one upon another,
as they do in like cases, when they are going to break; and when the
scouts came galloping in the men were in such disorder, that had but
one man broke away, I am satisfied they had all run for it.
I found my Lord Holland did not perceive it; but after the first
surprise was a little over I told my lord what I had observed, and
that unless some course was immediately taken they would all run at
the first sight of the enemy. I found he was much concerned at it, and
began to consult what course to take to prevent it. I confess 'tis a
hard question how to make men stand and face an enemy, when fear has
possessed their minds with an inclination to run away. But I'll give
that honour to the memory of that noble gentleman, who, though his
experience in matters of war was small, having never been in much
service, yet his courage made amends for it; for I daresay he would
not have turned his horse from an army of enemies, nor have saved his
life at the price of running away for it.
My lord soon saw, as well as I, the fright the men were in, after I
had given him a hint of it; and to encourage them, rode through their
ranks and spoke cheerfully to them, and used what arguments he thought
proper to settle their minds. I remembered a saying which I heard old
Marshal Gustavus Horn speak in Germany, "If you find your men falter,
or in doubt, never suffer them to halt, but keep them advancing; for
while they are going forward, it keeps up their courage."
As soon as I could get opportunity to speak to him, I gave him this
as my opinion. "That's very well," says my lord, "but I am studying,"
says he, "to post them so as that they can't run if they would; and if
they stand but once to face the enemy, I don't fear them afterwards."
While we were discoursing thus, word was brought that several parties
of the enemies were seen on the farther side of the river, upon which
my lord gave the word to march; and as we were marching on, my lord
calls out a lieutenant who had been an old soldier, with only five
troopers whom he had most confidence in, and having given him his
lesson, he sends him away. In a quarter of an hour one of the
five troopers comes back galloping and hallooing, and tells us his
lieutenant had, with his small party, beaten a party of twenty of the
enemy's horse over the river, and had secured the pass, and desired my
lord would march up to him immediately.
Tis a strange thing that men's spirits should be subjected to such
sudden changes, and capable of so much alteration from shadows of
things. They were for running before they saw the enemy, now they are
in haste to be led on, and but that in raw men we are obliged to bear
with anything, the disorder in both was intolerable.
The story was a premeditated sham, and not a word of truth in it,
invented to raise their spirits, and cheat them out of their cowardly
phlegmatic apprehensions, and my lord had his end in it; for they
were all on fire to fall on. And I am persuaded, had they been led
immediately into a battle begun to their hands, they would have laid
about them like furies; for there is nothing like victory to flush a
young soldier. Thus, while the humour was high, and the fermentation
lasted, away we marched, and, passing one of their great commons,
which they call moors, we came to the river, as he called it, where
our lieutenant was posted with his four men; 'twas a little brook
fordable with ease, and, leaving a guard at the pass, we advanced to
the top of a small ascent, from whence we had a fair view of the Scots
army, as they lay behind another river larger than the former.
Our men were posted well enough, behind a small enclosure, with a
narrow lane in their front. And my lord had caused his dragoons to be
placed in the front to line the hedges; and in this posture he stood
viewing the enemy at a distance. The Scots, who had some intelligence
of our coming, drew out three small parties, and sent them by
different ways to observe our number; and, forming a fourth party,
which I guessed to be about 600 horse, advanced to the top of the
plain, and drew up to face us, but never offered to attack us.
One of the small parties, making about 100 men, one third foot,
passes upon our flank in view, but out of reach; and, as they marched,
shouted at us, which our men, better pleased with that work than with
fighting, readily enough answered, and would fain have fired at them
for the pleasure of making a noise, for they were too far off to hit
them.
I observed that these parties had always some foot with them; and yet
if the horse galloped, or pushed on ever so forward, the foot were as
forward as they, which was an extraordinary advantage.
Gustavus Adolphus, that king of soldiers, was the first that I have
ever observed found the advantage of mixing small bodies of musketeers
among his horse; and, had he had such nimble strong fellows as these,
he would have prized them above all the rest of his men. These were
those they call Highlanders. They would run on foot with their arms
and all their accoutrements, and keep very good order too, and yet
keep pace with the horse, let them go at what rate they would. When I
saw the foot thus interlined among the horse, together with the way of
ordering their flying parties, it presently occurred to my mind that
here was some of our old Scots come home out of Germany that had the
ordering of matters, and if so, I knew we were not a match for them.
Thus we stood facing the enemy till our scouts brought us word the
whole Scots army was in motion, and in full march to attack us; and,
though it was not true, and the fear of our men doubled every object,
yet 'twas thought convenient to make our retreat. The whole matter was
that the scouts having informed them what they could of our strength,
the 600 were ordered to march towards us, and three regiments of foot
were drawn out to support the horse.
I know not whether they would have ventured to attack us, at least
before their foot had come up; but whether they would have put it to
the hazard or no, we were resolved not to hazard the trial, so we
drew down to the pass. And, as retreating looks something like running
away, especially when an enemy is at hand, our men had much ado to
make their retreat pass for a march, and not a flight; and, by their
often looking behind them, anybody might know what they would have
done if they had been pressed.
I confess, I was heartily ashamed when the Scots, coming up to the
place where we had been posted, stood and shouted at us. I would have
persuaded my lord to have charged them, and he would have done it with
all his heart, but he saw it was not practicable; so we stood at gaze
with them above two hours, by which time their foot were come up to
them, and yet they did not offer to attack us. I never was so ashamed
of myself in my life; we were all dispirited. The Scots gentlemen
would come out single, within shot of our post, which in a time of war
is always accounted a challenge to any single gentleman, to come out
and exchange a pistol with them, and nobody would stir; at last our
old lieutenant rides out to meet a Scotchman that came pickeering on
his quarter. This lieutenant was a brave and a strong fellow, had been
a soldier in the Low Countries; and though he was not of any quality,
only a mere soldier, had his preferment for his conduct. He gallops
bravely up to his adversary, and exchanging their pistols, the
lieutenant's horse happened to be killed. The Scotchman very
generously dismounts, and engages him with his sword, and fairly
masters him, and carries him away prisoner; and I think this horse was
all the blood was shed in that war.
The lieutenant's name thus conquered was English, and as he was a very
stout old soldier, the disgrace of it broke his heart. The Scotchman,
indeed, used him very generously; for he treated him in the camp very
courteously, gave him another horse, and set him at liberty, gratis.
But the man laid it so to heart, that he never would appear in the
army, but went home to his own country and died.
I had enough of party-making, and was quite sick with indignation at
the cowardice of the men; and my lord was in as great a fret as I, but
there was no remedy. We durst not go about to retreat, for we should
have been in such confusion that the enemy must have discovered it; so
my lord resolved to keep the post, if possible, and send to the king
for some foot. Then were our men ready to fight with one another who
should be the messenger; and at last when a lieutenant with twenty
dragoons was despatched, he told us afterwards he found himself an
hundred strong before he was gotten a mile from the place.
In short, as soon as ever the day declined, and the dusk of the
evening began to shelter the designs of the men, they dropped away
from us one by one; and at last in such numbers, that if we had stayed
till the morning, we had not had fifty men left; out of 1200 horse and
dragoons.
When I saw how it was, consulting with some of the officers, we all
went to my Lord Holland, and pressed him to retreat, before the enemy
should discern the flight of our men; so he drew us off, and we came
to the camp the next morning, in the shamefullest condition that ever
poor men could do. And this was the end of the worst expedition ever I
made in my life.
To fight and be beaten is a casualty common to a soldier, and I have
since had enough of it; but to run away at the sight of an enemy,
and neither strike or be stricken, this is the very shame of the
profession, and no man that has done it ought to show his face
again in the field, unless disadvantages of place or number make it
tolerable, neither of which was our case.
My Lord Holland made another march a few days after, in hopes to
retrieve this miscarriage; but I had enough of it, so I kept in my
quarters. And though his men did not desert him as before, yet upon
the appearance of the enemy they did not think fit to fight, and came
off with but little more honour than they did before.
There was no need to go out to seek the enemy after this, for they
came, as I have noted, and pitched in sight of us, and their parties
came up every day to the very out-works of Berwick, but nobody
cared to meddle with them. And in this posture things stood when the
pacification was agreed on by both parties, which, like a short truce,
only gave both sides breath to prepare for a new war more ridiculously
managed than the former. When the treaty was so near a conclusion
as that conversation was admitted on both sides, I went over to the
Scotch camp to satisfy my curiosity, as many of our English officers
did also.
I confess the soldiers made a very uncouth figure, especially the
Highlanders. The oddness and barbarity of their garb and arms seemed
to have something in it remarkable.
They were generally tall swinging fellows; their swords were
extravagantly, and, I think, insignificantly broad, and they carried
great wooden targets, large enough to cover the upper part of their
bodies. Their dress was as antique as the rest; a cap on their heads,
called by them a bonnet, long hanging sleeves behind, and their
doublet, breeches, and stockings of a stuff they called plaid, striped
across red and yellow, with short cloaks of the same. These fellows
looked, when drawn out, like a regiment of merry-andrews, ready for
Bartholomew Fair. They are in companies all of a name, and therefore
call one another only by their Christian names, as Jemmy, Jocky, that
is, John, and Sawny, that is, Alexander, and the like. And they scorn
to be commanded but by one of their own clan or family. They are all
gentlemen, and proud enough to be kings. The meanest fellow among them
is as tenacious of his honour as the best nobleman in the country,
and they will fight and cut one another's throats for every trifling
affront.
But to their own clans or lairds, they are the willingest and most
obedient fellows in nature. Give them their due, were their skill in
exercises and discipline proportioned to their courage, they would
make the bravest soldiers in the world. They are large bodies, and
prodigiously strong; and two qualities they have above other nations,
viz., hardy to endure hunger, cold, and hardships, and wonderfully
swift of foot. The latter is such an advantage in the field that I
know none like it; for if they conquer, no enemy can escape them, and
if they run, even the horse can hardly overtake them. These were some
of them, who, as I observed before, went out in parties with their
horse.
There were three or four thousand of these in the Scots army, armed
only with swords and targets; and in their belts some of them had a
pistol, but no muskets at that time among them.
But there were also a great many regiments of disciplined men, who,
by their carrying their arms, looked as if they understood their
business, and by their faces, that they durst see an enemy.
I had not been half-an-hour in their camp after the ceremony of giving
our names, and passing their out-guards and main-guard was over, but
I was saluted by several of my acquaintance; and in particular, by one
who led the Scotch volunteers at the taking the castle of Oppenheim,
of which I have given an account. They used me with all the respect
they thought due to me, on account of old affairs, gave me the word,
and a sergeant waited upon me whenever I pleased to go abroad.
I continued twelve or fourteen days among them, till the pacification
was concluded; and they were ordered to march home. They spoke very
respectfully of the king, but I found were exasperated to the last
degree at Archbishop Laud and the English bishops, for endeavouring to
impose the Common Prayer Book upon them; and they always talked with
the utmost contempt of our soldiers and army. I always waived the
discourse about the clergy, and the occasion of the war, but I could
not but be too sensible what they said of our men was true; and by
this I perceived they had an universal intelligence from among us,
both of what we were doing, and what sort of people we were that were
doing it; and they were mighty desirous of coming to blows with us. I
had an invitation from their general, but I declined it, lest I should
give offence. I found they accepted the pacification as a thing not
likely to hold, or that they did not design should hold; and that
they were resolved to keep their forces on foot, notwithstanding the
agreement. Their whole army was full of brave officers, men of as
much experience and conduct as any in the world; and all men who know
anything of the war, know good officers presently make a good army.
Things being thus huddled up, the English came back to York, where
the army separated, and the Scots went home to increase theirs; for I
easily foresaw that peace was the farthest thing from their thoughts.
The next year the flame broke out again. The king draws his forces
down into the north, as before, and expresses were sent to all the
gentlemen that had commands to be at the place by the 15th of July. As
I had accepted of no command in the army, so I had no inclination at
all to go, for I foresaw there would be nothing but disgrace attend
it. My father, observing such an alteration in my usual forwardness,
asked me one day what was the matter, that I who used to be so forward
to go into the army, and so eager to run abroad to fight, now showed
no inclination to appear when the service of the king and country
called me to it? I told him I had as much zeal as ever for the king's
service, and for the country too: but he knew a soldier could not
abide to be beaten; and being from thence a little more inquisitive, I
told him the observations I had made in the Scots army, and the people
I had conversed with there. "And, sir," says I, "assure yourself, if
the king offers to fight them, he will be beaten; and I don't love to
engage when my judgment tells me beforehand I shall be worsted."
And as I had foreseen, it came to pass; for the Scots resolving to
proceed, never stood upon the ceremony of aggression, as before, but
on the 20th of August they entered England with their army.
However, as my father desired, I went to the king's army, which was
then at York, but not gotten all together. The king himself was at
London, but upon this news takes post for the army, and advancing a
part of his forces, he posted the Lord Conway and Sir Jacob Astley,
with a brigade of foot and some horse, at Newburn, upon the river
Tyne, to keep the Scots from passing that river.
The Scots could have passed the Tyne without fighting; but to let us
see that they were able to force their passage, they fall upon his
body of men and notwithstanding all the advantages of the place, they
beat them from the post, took their baggage and two pieces of cannon,
with some prisoners. Sir Jacob Astley made what resistance he could,
but the Scots charged with so much fury, and being also overpowered,
he was soon put into confusion. Immediately the Scots made themselves
masters of Newcastle, and the next day of Durham, and laid those two
counties under intolerable contributions.
Now was the king absolutely ruined; for among his own people the
discontents before were so plain, that had the clergy had any
forecast, they would never have embroiled him with the Scots, till he
had fully brought matters to an understanding at home. But the
case was thus: the king, by the good husbandry of Bishop Juxon, his
treasurer, had a million of ready money in his treasury, and upon that
account, having no need of a Parliament, had not called one in twelve
years; and perhaps had never called another, if he had not by this
unhappy circumstance been reduced to a necessity of it; for now
this ready money was spent in two foolish expeditions, and his army
appeared in a condition not fit to engage the Scots. The detachment
under Sir Jacob Astley, which were of the flower of his men, had
been routed at Newburn, and the enemy had possession of two entire
counties.
All men blamed Laud for prompting the king to provoke the Scots, a
headstrong nation, and zealous for their own way of worship; and Laud
himself found too late the consequences of it, both to the whole cause
and to himself; for the Scots, whose native temper is not easily to
forgive an injury, pursued him by their party in England, and never
gave it over till they laid his head on the block.
The ruined country now clamoured in his Majesty's ears with daily
petitions, and the gentry of other neighbouring counties cry out for
peace and Parliament. The king, embarrassed with these difficulties,
and quite empty of money, calls a great council of the nobility at
York, and demands their advice, which any one could have told him
before would be to call a Parliament.
I cannot, without regret, look back upon the misfortune of the king,
who, as he was one of the best princes in his personal conduct that
ever reigned in England, had yet some of the greatest unhappinesses in
his conduct as a king, that ever prince had, and the whole course of
his life demonstrated it.
1. An impolitic honesty. His enemies called it obstinacy; but as I was
perfectly acquainted with his temper, I cannot but think it was his
judgment, when he thought he was in the right, to adhere to it as a
duty though against his interest.
2. Too much compliance when he was complying. No man but himself would
have denied what at some times he denied, and have granted what at
other times he granted; and this uncertainty of counsel proceeded from
two things.
1. The heat of the clergy, to whom he was exceedingly devoted, and for
whom, indeed, he ruined himself.