packed up the same, but were prevented from insuper polire, nitida & usui expedita servare, loricas optimas induere, séque cætero armaturæ genere communire condocefecerat eos Cromwellius. Atque hoc exercitii militaris genere, præ reliquis commilitonum omnibus emicuêre virtute bellica, plurésque ab hoste palmas reportârunta.” i. e. "His men, who in the beginning were unskilful both in handling their arms, and managing their horses, by diligence and industry became excellent soldiers; for Cromwell used them daily to look after, feed and dress their horses; and, when it was needful, to lie together with them on the ground; and besides, taught them to clean and keep their arms bright, and have them ready for service; to chuse the best armour, and to arm themselves to the best advantage. Trained up in this kind of military exercise, they excelled all their fellow soldiers in feats of war, and obtained more victories over their enemies." The following stratagem to try the courage of his troopers in the beginning of the war is related by more than one writer. "Upon the first muster of his troop, having privily placed twelve resolute men in an ambuscado (it being near some of the king's garrisons) upon a signal, on the appointed time, and the said ambush with a trumpet sounding, galloped furiously to the body, out of which some twenty instantly fled out of fear and dismay, and were glad the forfeiture was so cheap and easy; and ashamed of their childish and disgraceful deserting of their station and colours, had not the confidence to request their continuance in his service, or deny or scruple the rendring their horses to them who should fight the Lord's battle in their stead "." I am no judge of military affairs but I think it is a maxim "that good discipline makes good soldiers." Cromwell was quite exact in this, and the behaviour of his army was such as merited the greatest praise, even abstracted from its valour. Let us b Flagellum, or the Life, &c. of Perfect Politician, or a full View * Bates's Elenchi, p. 220. pars 2da. Oliver Cromwell, p. 24. 12mo. Lond. 1663. of the Life of Oliver Cromwell, p. 4. 8vo. Lond. 1680. VOL. III. G sending it, by the diligence of Oliver, who hear an eye witness: a panegyrist he is; but on this occasion seems to have adhered pretty much to the truth. Quicquid effuciunt in te dementes Olivari, nauci non facio, religiosissimum imperatorem, religionis mediis in exercitibus defensorem, protectorem, propagatorem, nemo nisi laudum tuarum supra modum invidus hic reperitur, qui te non suspexerit, admiratus fuerit, observantiâ summâ non coluerit. Enim vero, ubinam terrarum tàm religiosus visus est imperator, tamquè religiosus exercitus? Miratus ego sum, varias Angliæ provincias tunc pro negotiorum meorum, vel principis mei Serenissimi Ducis Gueldriæ Comitis Hæcmundæ necessitate peragrans, easquè militibus tuis refertas, ita quietas, tranquillas, pacatas, quasi ne unus quidem in illis miles esset, sic addictas pietati, quasi monachorum non militum legiones in pagis ipsarum dispersæ degerent. Ita certa singulis diebus tùm fundendis Deo precibus, tùm audiendis Dei præconiis, erant assignata tempora, milites ipsos adeo modestos, nihilque nişi Deum, pietatem, religionem, virtutem respirantes, ut ingenuè fatear cum stupore non mediocri sæpè suspexi. Atque ne putet hie aliquis velle me blandiri, oleum Olivario divendere, vel in illius aures instillare, testem Deum adhibeo, quod sæpissime præsidiarios Olivarii, modô suprâ dictô milites adiens, ne vel inverecundum verbulum unquam ab ullius ex illis ore perceperim, jusjurandumque nullum, sed meram humanitatem, urbanitatem, pietatem, verecundiam, modestiam animadverterim. Unde nequaquam in Olivarii militibus locum habere potest quod de omnibus aliis jampridem decantatum est, "Nulla fides pietasquè viris qui castra sequuntur, "Sed de illis dicendum potius est, "Multa fides pietasquè viris qui castra sequuntur 2.” Warwick, speaking of his army, says, "they had all either naturally the phanatick humour, or soon imbibed it: a a Parallelum Olivæ nec non Olivari per Lud. de Gand. Dom. de Brachtcy, &e. Lond. 1656. folio. on this, as well as other occasions, shewed a herd of this sort of men being by him drawn together, he -made use of the zeal and credulity of those persons, teaching them, as they too readily taught themselves, that they engaged for God, when he led them against his vicegerent the king: and where this opinion met with a natural courage, it made them the bolder, and too oftner the crueller: for it was such a sort of men, as killed brave young Cavendish and many others, after quarter given, in cold blood. And these men, habited more to spiritual pride than carnal riot or intemperance, so consequently having been industrious and active in their former callings, and professions, where natural courage wanted, zeal supplied its place; and at first they chose rather to dye than fly; and custom removed fear of danger and afterwards finding the sweet of good pay, and of opulent plunder, and of preferment, suitable to activity and merit; the lucrative part made gain seem to them a natural member of godliness "." Though many shades are thrown into Warwick's picture, it is still beautiful in comparison of "a dissolute, undisciplined, wicked beaten army," which Clarendon tells us the king's was, when lord Hopton took its command: “an army, whose horse," he says, "their friends feared, and their enemies laughed at; being terrible only in plunder, and resolute in running away " Such would not have been entertained by Cromwell. I shall close this note with the last writer's character of Cromwell's army, given before both houses of parliament, Sept. 13, 1660: I say Cromwell's army, for it is well known they were the same men, for the most part, who had been formed by him, and fought under his banners. "No other prince," says the chancellor, "in Europe, would be willing to disband such an army; an army to which victory is entailed, and which, humanly speaking, could hardly fail of conquest whithersoever he should lead it. An army whose order and discipline, whose a Warwick's Memoirs, p. 252. Clarendon, vol. IV. p. 729. himself an active partisan". In the course sobriety and manners, whose courage and success hath made it famous and terrible over the world. His majesty knows they are too good Englishmen to wish that a standing army should be kept up in the bowels of their own country; that they who did but in Bello pacis gerere negotium, and who whilst an army lived like good husbandmen in the country, and good citizens in the city, will now become really such, and take delight in the benefit of that peace, they have so honestly and so wonderfully brought to pass 2." What an elogium, before those who were best of all able to judge of its truth and propriety! Nothing a after this can be added. 17 They were prevented by the diligence of Oliver, who shewed himself an active partisan.] I intend not to particularize the military exploits of Cromwell, they are sufficiently known. Europe sounded with them; and they will be long talked of. However, as this was his first exploit, it may merit some attention, as well as rectify some mistakes. Great complaint is made of him in the Querela Cantabrigiensis, in the following words: "Master Cromwell, burgess for the town of Cambridge, and then newly turned a man of war, was sent down by his masters above, at the invitation of his masters below (as himself confessed) to gather what strength he could to stop all passages that no plate might be sent: but his designs being frustrated, and his opinion as of an active subtile man, thereby somewhat shaken and endangered, he hath ever since bent himself to In work what revenge and mischief he could against us. pursuit whereof, before that month was expired, down he comes again in a terrible manner with what forces he could draw together, and surrounds divers colleges, while we were at our devotion in our several chappels, taking away prisoners, several doctors of divinity, heads of colleges, a Lives of the Lord Chancellors, vol. II. p. 126, 8vo. Lond. 1712. As high a character is given of these men in the continuation of the Life of Clarendon, vol. II. p. 40, of the war he gave full proof of his bravery and good conduct: at Marston-Moor he turned the fortune of the day, and thereby obtained -and these he carries with him to London in triumph." This story is repeated by the editor of Dr. Barwick's life, but by the extract from the journals, in the foregoing note, it appears that his design of stopping the plate intended for the king, was not frustrated, and therefore the former part of the story must be without foundation. May writes, that "the first action Cromwell undertook was to secure the town of Cambridge for the parliament, about the middle of January. Universities of all places were most apt to adhere to the king's party, esteeming parliaments, and especially this, the greatest depressors of that ecclesiastical dignity, in hope of which they are there nurtured. Upon which reason they were packing up a large quantity of the plate that belonged to all the colleges, to send it away to the king, which would have made a considerable sum. This was foreseen by Cromwell; who by a commission from the parliament, and lord general Essex, had raised a troop of horse, and came down into that country, with authority to raise more forces as occasion served; he came to Cambridge soon enough to seize upon that plate "."What the quantity of plate in the whole was, which was packed up for the king, appears not: but the particular pieces sent from St. John's College for the purpose, amounted to two thousand sixty-five ounces and three-fourths . So that probably the whole was a good booty. But Cromwell seldom did things by halves. "Whilst I was about Huntington, visiting old Sir Oliver Cromwell, his uncle and godfather, at his house at Ramsey, he told me this story of his successful nephew and god-son; that he visited him with a good strong party of horse, and that he had * Querela Cantabrigiensis, 8vo. p. 182. Lond. 1685. of the Parliament, b. III. p. 79. folio. Lond. 1647. 8vo. Lond. 1724. b May's History Barwick's Life, p. 24. |