BattlefieldsPontefract Castle Rainsborough Assassination Sortie 1648
English Civil War

Pontefract Castle Rainsborough Assassination Sortie 1648

1648
West Yorkshire, England
Era
English Civil War
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
West Yorkshire, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Colonel Thomas Rainsborough's bodyguard
Forces
Rainsborough bodyguard at Doncaster
VS
Victor
Royalist raiding party from Pontefract Castle
Forces
Pontefract Royalist raiding party of 22 men
Outcome
Rainsborough killed; Pontefract garrison achieved a spectacular propaganda success; the castle continued to hold out until March 1649.
The Battle

History & Significance

On 28 October 1648 a raiding party of twenty-two Pontefract Royalists rode overnight to Doncaster, forced their way into the quarters of the Parliamentary general Colonel Thomas Rainsborough, and killed him when he resisted. The assassination shocked Parliament and demonstrated the aggressive reach of the Pontefract garrison deep into Parliamentary-held territory.

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