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The Battle of Rowton Heath, also known as the Battle of Rowton Moor, occurred on 24 September 1645 during the English Civil War. Fought by the Parliamentarians, commanded by Sydnam Poyntz, and the Royalists under the personal command of King Charles I, it was a significant defeat for the Royalists, with heavy losses and Charles prevented from relieving the Siege of Chester. Prior to the battle, Charles had been attempting to link up with the Marquess of Montrose in Scotland following the Royalist defeat in the Battle of Naseby. Although his attempts to do so were unsuccessful, they were disruptive enough that the Committee of Both Kingdoms ordered Sydnam Poyntz to pursue the King with approximately 3,000 horse. After Charles was informed that Chester, his only remaining port, was under siege, he marched there with the intent of relieving the defenders, ordering 3,000 horse under the command of Marmaduke Langdale to camp outside the city while he and 600 others travelled into Chester itself on 23 September 1645. The intent was to attack the besieging Parliamentarians from both sides, Charles mistakenly believing that Poyntz had failed to follow them. In fact he was barely behind, and moved to attack Langdale's force in the early hours of 24 September. Although Langdale drove Poyntz off, the Parliamentarians besieging Chester sent reinforcements, and Langdale was forced to retreat to Rowton Heath, closer to Chester, and wait for his own reinforcements. This force, under Charles Gerard and Lord Bernard Stewart, was prevented from joining them, and Langdale was instead attacked by both Poyntz's force and the reinforcement. After being driven off the field and failing in an attempt to regroup at Chester itself, the Royalists retreated as dusk fell. Royalist casualties were high, with 600 killed, including Stewart, and 900 taken prisoner. This defeat prevented Charles from relieving the defenders in Chester, which fell to the Parliamentarians on 3 February 1646. Charles instead withdrew with approximately 2,400 remaining cavalry, most of whom were destroyed by Poyntz's ambush at Sherburn-in-Elmet on 15 October 1645. ==Background== Following the destruction of King Charles I's main army at the Battle of Naseby on 14 June 1645, the First English Civil War tilted decisively in favour of the Parliamentarians. Charles withdrew with his remaining forces to Raglan Castle in Wales, hoping to recruit new soldiers there and travel across the Bristol Channel to link up with George Goring, the only remaining Royalist commander of a significant force. The defeat of Goring at the Battle of Langport on 10 July, along with the subsequent "disintegration" of the new troops in South Wales, led to Charles abandoning this plan.〔Barratt (1994) p.3〕 Despite this and the loss of much of Northern England following the Battle of Marston Moor, Charles still had large numbers of soldiers in the West of England, and one of his supporters, the Marquess of Montrose, was winning a string of victories across Scotland. The Royalist force attempted to join up with Montrose in Scotland. In early August, Charles took 2,500 soldiers and marched north, being forced to turn back at Doncaster due to the advance of David Leslie and 4,000 cavalry.〔Clark (2010) p.115〕 Charles's troops then made a raid into the Eastern Association, getting as far as Huntington and forcing the Parliamentarians besieging Hereford to withdraw. In response, the Committee of Both Kingdoms ordered Sydnam Poyntz to pursue the King.〔 Evading Poyntz's forces, Charles again marched north on 18 September, taking 3,500 cavalry under William Vaughan and Lord Charles Gerrard as far as the River Wye at Presteigne. At this point, a messenger arrived to inform Charles that "part of the outworks of Chester were betrayed to the enemy", forcing him to change his plans and march towards Chester.〔Barratt (1994) p.4〕 Chester had come under siege during December 1644, with a loose blockade or "leager" formed around the town. With Bristol now fallen to the Parliamentarians, Chester was the last port under Royalist control, and crucial due to its links with recruiting efforts in Ireland and North Wales.〔Clark (2010) p.117〕 On 20 September 1645, a force of 500 horse, 200 dragoons and 700 foot under the command of Michael Jones attacked the Royalist barricades,〔Barratt (1994) p.8〕 and with the defenders completely taken by surprise, they fell back to the inner city. On 22 September, Parliamentarian artillery began bombarding the city, and after breaching the walls (and having a summons to surrender refused by the defenders), the Parliamentarians attacked in two places. Both were repulsed, in one case due to the defenders counter-attacking on foot, and in the other due to the inadequate length of the attacker's scaling ladders preventing them from climbing the wall. Despite this success, the attacking Parliamentarian forces grew in strength while the defenders were weary; as such, the arrival of Charles and his force on 23 September was met with delight.〔Barratt (1994) p.12〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Rowton Heath」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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