More Like Lions than Men

Sir William Brereton and the Cheshire Army of Parliament, 1642-46

von Andrew Abram

402 Seiten, Taschenbuch

Kurzbeschreibung des Verlags

Cheshire's parliamentarian army, led by Sir William Brereton, emerges in this focused study as a seasoned, regionally decisive force whose recruitment, leadership and wartime logistics shaped the 1642-1646 campaign across the northwest and beyond.Based on primary archival research (much of which remains unpublished), supported by field trips to battlefields and castles, More Like Lions than Men represents the first focused and sustained study of the recruitment, organisation, payment, equipping, leadership and war service of the forces raised and maintained in the service of parliament in Cheshire between 1642 and 1646. The Cheshire army of parliament was commanded by the devout, energetic and strategically astute Sir William Brereton, MP for the county. As a important 'regional' force it undertook the extended war aims and strategy of the parliament in Cheshire (and in particular, its primary objective, the reduction and capture of the royalist stronghold of Chester). Led and trained by a number of officers of experience and ability (including Michael Jones, Robert Venables, and some professional soldiers, such as James Lothian), it often operated in conjunction with other forces and under various regional commands throughout the northwest, as well as the Midland counties, North Wales, Lancashire and Yorkshire, wherein its troops and companies served together or were 'brigaded' with others. These were bolstered in 1644 by the absorption of high quality, veteran troops of Charles I's army in Ireland, who had been captured at Nantwich and Liverpool.The Cheshire army of parliament is well served by archival sources. This includes contemporary news-books, correspondence, warrants, petitions, accounts of sequestration committees and army officers, certificates of service and illustrations of cavalry standards, contained in various repositories and private collections, but especially The National Archives and the British Library. The five surviving volumes of letter books of Sir William Brereton remain invaluable to our understanding of the scope and day-to-day operations of Sir William and his army. Such sources present an invaluable, if largely untapped source for the centralised pay, equipping and composition of the Cheshire parliamentarian forces.More Like Lions than Men explores the context, nature and composition of the Cheshire forces in detail, in order to give credence to the notion that this was an effective, seasoned and important fighting force, albeit mainly on a regional stage. As such it adds significantly to our knowledge of the parliamentary war effort and civil war forces in the northwest of England and beyond, whilst appealing to anyone with an interest in military history, including academics, local historians, re-enactors and wargamers.

• Reihe: Century of the Soldier 1618-1721
• Themen: Geschichte und Archäologie Geschichte Militärgeschichte
• ISBN: 9781913118822
• Sprache: Englisch
• Erscheinungsdatum: 03.03.2020
• Größe: 248 x 181 mm
• Verlag: Helion & Company