Battle of Lostwithiel 21 August 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 Sir Richard Grenville
History & Significance
1644 (MDCXLIV) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar, the 1644th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 644th year of the 2nd millennium, the 44th year of the 17th century, and the 5th year of the 1640s decade. As of the start of 1644, the Gregorian calendar was 10 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923. It is one of eight years (CE) to contain each Roman numeral once (1000(M)+500(D)+100(C)+(-10(X)+50(L))+(-1(I)+5(V)) = 1644).
January 22 – The Royalist Oxford Parliament is first assembled by King Charles I of England.
January 26 – First English Civil War: Battle of Nantwich – The Parliamentarians defeat the Royalists, allowing them to end the 6-week siege of the Cheshire town.
Dutch explorer Abel Tasman departs from Batavia in the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Jakarta in Indonesia) on his second major expedition for the Dutch East India Company, to map the north coast of Australia. Tasman commands three ships, Limmen, Zeemeeuw and Braek, and returns to Batavia at the beginning of August with no major discoveries.
Battle of Ochmatów: Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth forces under hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski secure a substantial victory over the army of the Crimean Khanate under Tugay Bey.
February 2 – Prince of Transylvania George I Rákóczi invades Hungary to aid Sweden against the Habsburgs.
February 5 – The first livestock branding law in America is passed in Connecticut.
February 8 – Li Zicheng declares the founding of the Shun dynasty in China, with himself as emperor.
March 24 – Roger Williams is granted an official grant for his Rhode Island Colony from the Parliament of England, allowing the establishment of a general assembly.
April 18 – Opchanacanough leads the Powhatan Indians in an unsuccessful uprising against the English at Jamestown. Although 300 of the English colonists are slain, the settlers pursue Opchanacanough, who is imprisoned in Jamestown for the rest of his life. This is the last such Indian rebellion in the region.
April 25 – A popular Chinese rebellion led by Li Zicheng sacks Beijing, prompting Chongzhen, the last emperor of the Ming dynasty, to commit suicide.
May 25 – Ming general Wu Sangui forms an alliance with the invading Manchus and opens the gates of the Great Wall of China at Shanhaiguan Pass, letting the Manchus through towards the capital Beijing.
May 26 – Battle of Montijo: The Kingdom of Portugal is victorious over Habsburg Spain, in the first major action between the two nations during the Portuguese Restoration War.
The ground they fought on
The site of Battle of Lostwithiel 21 August 1644 lies on Lower Devonian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Early Devonian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.
At 07:00 on 21 August 1644, King Charles launched his opening assault on the trapped Parliamentarian army at Lostwithiel: Grenville's Cornish Royalists stormed Restormel Castle from the north and quickly dislodged its defenders, while the Oxford army swept onto Beacon Hill to the east with little resistance and Prince Maurice's force occupied Druid Hill, leaving the Royalists in command of all the high ground surrounding the town by nightfall and the Parliamentarian position critically weakened from the very first day of fighting.
- Casualties on 21 August reported as fairly low; ultimately nearly half of the surrendered Parliamentarian infantry lost to disease and desertion on the march to Southampton
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 1413619.
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