Battle of Naseby - The Campaign

The Campaign

At the beginning of 1645, most of King Charles's advisers urged him to attack the New Model Army while it was still forming. However, Prince Rupert of the Rhine, who had recently been appointed General of the Army and therefore the King's chief military adviser, proposed instead to march north to recover the North of England and join forces with the Royalists in Scotland under Montrose. This course was adopted, even though the King's army had to be weakened by leaving a detachment (including 3,000 cavalry) under Lord Goring, the Lieutenant General of Horse, to hold the West Country and maintain the Siege of Taunton, in Somerset.

At the same time, after the New Model Army had abandoned an attempt to relieve Taunton, Parliament's Committee of Both Kingdoms had directed Fairfax, its commander, to besiege Oxford, the King's wartime capital. Initially, Charles welcomed this move, as Fairfax would be unable to interfere with his move north. Then at the end of May he was told that Oxford was short of provisions and could not hold out long. To distract Fairfax, the Royalists stormed the Parliamentarian garrison at Leicester on 31 May. Having done so, Prince Rupert and the King's council reversed their former decision and marched south to relieve Oxford. They sent messages ordering Goring to rejoin them, but Goring refused to leave the West Country.

Parliament had indeed been alarmed by the loss of Leicester, and Fairfax was now instructed to abandon the siege of Oxford and engage the King's main army. He accordingly marched north from Oxford on 5 June. His leading detachments of horse clashed with Royalist outposts near Daventry on 12 June, alerting the King to his presence. On 13 June, the Royalists, who were now making for Newark (Nottinghamshire) so as to receive reinforcements, were at Market Harborough (Leicestershire).

Fairfax was eager to engage them, and held a council of war, during which Oliver Cromwell, who had recently been re-appointed Lieutenant General, arrived with some cavalry reinforcements. The New Model Army moved in pursuit of the Royalist army, and late in the day Commissary General Henry Ireton (Cromwell's son in law and second in command of the cavalry) attacked a Royalist outpost at Naseby, 6 miles (9.7 km) to the south of the main body of the King's army. The King now had to accept battle, or retreat with Fairfax in close pursuit. Early on 14 June, ignoring Rupert's advice and urged on by Secretary of State Lord Digby, the King was persuaded that any retreat would lower morale and took the former course.