Battle of Lostwithiel 31 August - 1 September 1644
Who Fought
Parliamentarians: approximately 6,500 foot and 3,000 horse under the Earl of Essex. Royalists: approximately 12,000 foot and 7,000 horse under King Charles I, Prince Maurice, and Richard Grenville.
History & Significance
The Battle of Lostwithiel took place over a 13-day period from 21 August to 2 September 1644, around the town of Lostwithiel and along the River Fowey valley in Cornwall during the First English Civil War. A Royalist army led by Charles I of England defeated a Parliamentarian force commanded by the Earl of Essex.
Although Essex and most of the cavalry escaped, between 5,000 and 6,000 Parliamentarian infantry were forced to surrender. Since the Royalists were unable to feed so many, they were given a pass back to their own territory, arriving in Southampton a month later having lost nearly half their number to disease and desertion.
Considered one of the worst defeats suffered by Parliament over the course of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, it secured South West England for the Royalists until early 1646.
During April and May 1644, Parliamentarian commanders Sir William Waller and the Earl of Essex combined their armies and carried out a campaign against King Charles and the Royalist garrisons surrounding Oxford. Trusting Waller to deal with the King in Oxfordshire, Essex divided the Parliamentarian army on 6 June and headed southwest to relieve the Royalist siege of Lyme in Dorset. Lyme had been under siege by King Charles' nephew, Prince Maurice, and the Royalists for nearly two months.
South-West England at that time was largely under the control of the Royalists. The town of Lyme, however, was a Parliamentarian stronghold and served as an important seaport for the Parliamentarian fleet of the Earl of Warwick. As Essex approached Lyme in mid-June Prince Maurice ended the siege and took his troops west to Exeter.
Essex then proceeded further southwest toward Cornwall with the intent to relieve the siege of Plymouth. Plymouth was the only other significant Parliamentarian stronghold in the South-West and it was under siege by Richard Grenville and Cornish Royalists. Essex had been told by Lord Robartes, a wealthy politician and merchant from Cornwall, that the Parliamentarians would gain considerable military support if he moved against Grenville and freed Plymouth. Given Lord Robartes' advice, Essex advanced toward Plymouth. His action caused Grenville to end the siege. Essex then advanced further west, believing that he could take full control of the South-West from the Royalists.
Meanwhile, in Oxfordshire, King Charles battled with the Parliamentarians and defeated Sir William Waller at the Battle of Cropredy Bridge on 29 June. On 12 July after a Royalist council of war recommended that Essex be dealt with before he could be reinforced, King Charles and his Oxford army departed Evesham. King Charles accepted the council's advice, not solely because it was good strategy, but more so because his Queen was in Exeter, where she had recently given birth to the Princess Henrietta and had been denied safe conduct to Bath by Essex.
The ground they fought on
The site of Battle of Lostwithiel 31 August - 1 September 1644 lies on Lower Devonian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Early Devonian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.
On the morning of 21 August 1644, King Charles I launched a co-ordinated assault on the trapped Parliamentarian army. Grenville and the Cornish Royalists attacked Restormel Castle from the north, easily dislodging the defenders, whilst the Oxford army seized Beacon Hill to the east with little resistance and Prince Maurice occupied Druid Hill. By nightfall the Royalists commanded the high ground on every side, leaving Essex's force with no prospect of relief after Sir John Middleton's reinforcements had already been turned back at Bridgwater, sealing the fate of between 5,000 and 6,000 Parliamentarian infantry who would shortly be compelled to surrender.
- Between 5,000 and 6,000 Parliamentarian infantry surrendered; nearly half of those were subsequently lost to disease and desertion before reaching Southampton. Royalist casualties were described as fairly low on 21 August.
This battlefield is listed on the Register of Historic Battlefields — a national designation identifying Britain's most significant battle sites for protection and further research. Reference: NHLE 1413762.
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