Battle of Hopton Heath
Battle of Hopton Heath
| date | March 19, 1643 |
|---|---|
| place | Hopton (Staffordshire) ( Staffordshire ) |
| output | Both sides claimed victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 1,200 | 1,500 |
The Battle of Hopton Heath took place on March 19, 1643 in the 1st English Civil War .
The battle
On Sunday, March 19, 1643 there was a military conflict between royalists and parliamentarians on a hill near what is now Hopton in Staffordshire . Hopton lies on the then strategically important road between the royalist capital Oxford and the ports of Yorkshire ; from here one could control the Midlands .
The royalists were led by Spencer Compton, 2nd Earl of Northampton. The 1500 MPs were led by Sir John Gell. This unit had taken Lichfield a few days before and was moving towards Stafford . At Hopton Heath, Gell was brought in by the royalists. Most of the royalists were mounted. In addition to the 1,100 cavalrymen , there were 100 infantry and artillery.
Crompton had the parliamentary troops bombarded with his powerful artillery. This was followed by an attack by the cavalry, which Gell's infantry withstood. In another attack, the Earl of Northampton fell from his horse and was killed in close combat. At nightfall the MPs withdrew towards Chartley, leaving the battlefield and eight guns to the royalists. Both sides claimed victory; the parliamentarians had lost most of their artillery, but the royalists had lost their general. About 300 to 500 soldiers were killed.
literature
- Martyn Bennett: The English Civil War - A Historical Companion , Stroud 2004. ISBN 0-7524-3186-2
Individual evidence
- ↑ The battle of Hopton Heath on historic-uk.com
Coordinates: 52 ° 50 ′ 0 ″ N , 2 ° 4 ′ 0 ″ W.