The History of England, from the Accession of James the Second - Volume 1 by Thomas Babington Macaulay (diy ebook reader .txt) π
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/> Oxfordshire. John Fell, Bishop of Oxford, who was also Dean of
Christchurch, summoned the undergraduates of his University to
take arms for the crown. The gownsmen crowded to give in their
names. Christchurch alone furnished near a hundred pikemen and
musketeers. Young noblemen and gentlemen commoners acted as
officers; and the eldest son of the Lord Lieutenant was
Colonel.388
But it was chiefly on the regular troops that the King relied.
Churchill had been sent westward with the Blues; and Feversham
was following with all the forces that could be spared from the
neighbourhood of London. A courier had started for Holland with a
letter directing Skelton instantly to request that the three
English regiments in the Dutch service might be sent to the
Thames. When the request was made, the party hostile to the House
of Orange, headed by the deputies of Amsterdam, again tried to
cause delay. But the energy of William, who had almost as much at
stake as James, and who saw Monmouth's progress with serious
uneasiness, bore down opposition, and in a few days the troops
sailed.389 The three Scotch regiments were already in England.
They had arrived at Gravesend in excellent condition, and James
had reviewed them on Blackheath. He repeatedly declared to the
Dutch Ambassador that he had never in his life seen finer or
better disciplined soldiers, and expressed the warmest gratitude
to the Prince of Orange and the States for so valuable and
seasonable a reinforcement This satisfaction, however, was not
unmixed. Excellently as the men went through their drill, they
were not untainted with Dutch politics and Dutch divinity. One of
them was shot and another flogged for drinking the Duke of
Monmouth's health. It was therefore not thought advisable to
place them in the post of danger. They were kept in the
neighbourhood of London till the end of the campaign. But their
arrival enabled the King to send to the West some infantry which
would otherwise have been wanted in the capital.390
While the government was thus preparing for a conflict with the
rebels in the field, precautions of a different kind were not
neglected. In London alone two hundred of those persons who were
thought most likely to be at the head of a Whig movement were
arrested. Among the prisoners were some merchants of great note.
Every man who was obnoxious to the Court went in fear. A general
gloom overhung the capital. Business languished on the Exchange;
and the theatres were so generally deserted that a new opera,
written by Dryden, and set off by decorations of unprecedented
magnificence, was withdrawn, because the receipts would not cover
the expenses of the performance.391 The magistrates and clergy
were everywhere active. the Dissenters were everywhere closely
observed. In Cheshire and Shropshire a fierce persecution raged;
in Northamptonshire arrests were numerous; and the gaol of Oxford
was crowded with prisoners. No Puritan divine, however moderate
his opinions, however guarded his conduct, could feel any
confidence that he should not be torn from his family and flung
into a dungeon.392
Meanwhile Monmouth advanced from Bridgewater harassed through the
whole march by Churchill, who appears to have done all that, with
a handful of men, it was possible for a brave and skilful officer
to effect. The rebel army, much annoyed, both by the enemy and by
a heavy fall of rain, halted in the evening of the twenty-second
of June at Glastonbury. The houses of the little town did not
afford shelter for so large a force. Some of the troops were
therefore quartered in the churches, and others lighted their
fires among the venerable ruins of the Abbey, once the wealthiest
religious house in our island. From Glastonbury the Duke marched
to Wells, and from Wells to Shepton Mallet.393
Hitherto he seems to have wandered from place to place with no
other object than that of collecting troops. It was now necessary
for him to form some plan of military operations. His first
scheme was to seize Bristol. Many of the chief inhabitants of
that important place were Whigs. One of the ramifications of the
Whig plot had extended thither. The garrison consisted only of
the Gloucestershire trainbands. If Beaufort and his rustic
followers could be overpowered before the regular troops arrived,
the rebels would at once find themselves possessed of ample
pecuniary resources; the credit of Monmouth's arms would be
raised; and his friends throughout the kingdom would be
encouraged to declare themselves. Bristol had fortifications
which, on the north of the Avon towards Gloucestershire, were
weak, but on the south towards Somersetshire were much stronger.
It was therefore determined that the attack should be made on the
Gloucestershire side. But for this purpose it was necessary to
take a circuitous route, and to cross the Avon at Keynsham. The
bridge at Keynsham had been partly demolished by the militia, and
was at present impassable. A detachment was therefore sent
forward to make the necessary repairs. The other troops followed
more slowly, and on the evening of the twenty-fourth of June
halted for repose at Pensford. At Pensford they were only five
miles from the Somersetshire side of Bristol; but the
Gloucestershire side, which could be reached only by going round
through Keynsham, was distant a long day's march.394
That night was one of great tumult and expectation in Bristol.
The partisans of Monmouth knew that he was almost within sight of
their city, and imagined that he would be among them before
daybreak. About an hour after sunset a merchantman lying at the
quay took fire. Such an occurrence, in a port crowded with
shipping, could not but excite great alarm. The whole river was
in commotion. The streets were crowded. Seditious cries were
heard amidst the darkness and confusion. It was afterwards
asserted, both by Whigs and by Tories, that the fire had been
kindled by the friends of Monmouth, in the hope that the
trainbands would be busied in preventing the conflagration from
spreading, and that in the meantime the rebel army would make a
bold push, and would enter the city on the Somersetshire side. If
such was the design of the incendiaries, it completely failed.
Beaufort, instead of sending his men to the quay, kept them all
night drawn up under arms round the beautiful church of Saint
Mary Redcliff, on the south of the Avon. He would see Bristol
burnt down, he said, nay, he would burn it down himself, rather
than that it should be occupied by traitors. He was able, with
the help of some regular cavalry which had joined him from
Chippenham a few hours before, to prevent an insurrection. It
might perhaps have been beyond his power at once to overawe the
malecontents within the walls and to repel an attack from
without: but no such attack was made. The fire, which caused so
much commotion at Bristol, was distinctly seen at Pensford.
Monmouth, however, did not think it expedient to change his plan.
He remained quiet till sunrise, and then marched to Keynsham.
There he found the bridge repaired. He determined to let his army
rest during the afternoon, and, as soon as night came, to proceed
to Bristol.395
But it was too late. The King's forces were now near at hand.
Colonel Oglethorpe, at the head of about a hundred men of the
Life Guards, dashed into Keynsham, scattered two troops of rebel
horse which ventured to oppose him, and retired after inflicting
much injury and suffering little. In these circumstances it was
thought necessary to relinquish the design on Bristol.396
But what was to be done? Several schemes were proposed and
discussed. It was suggested that Monmouth might hasten to
Gloucester, might cross the Severn there, might break down the
bridge behind him, and, with his right flank protected by the
river, might march through Worcestershire into Shropshire and
Cheshire. He had formerly made a progress through those counties,
and had been received there with as much enthusiasm as in
Somersetshire and Devonshire. His presence might revive the zeal
of his old friends; and his army might in a few days be swollen
to double its present numbers.
On full consideration, however, it appeared that this plan,
though specious, was impracticable. The rebels were ill shod for
such work as they had lately undergone, and were exhausted by
toiling, day after day, through deep mud under heavy rain.
Harassed and impeded as they would be at every stage by the
enemy's cavalry, they could not hope to reach Gloucester without
being overtaken by the main body of the royal troops, and forced
to a general action under every disadvantage.
Then it was proposed to enter Wiltshire. Persons who professed to
know that county well assured the Duke that he would be joined
there by such strong reinforcements as would make it safe for him
to give battle.397
He took this advice, and turned towards Wiltshire. He first
summoned Bath. But Bath was strongly garrisoned for the King; and
Feversham was fast approaching. The rebels, therefore made no
attempt on the walls, but hastened to Philip's Norton, where they
halted on the evening of the twenty-sixth of June.
Feversham followed them thither. Early on the morning of the
twenty-seventh they were alarmed by tidings that he was close at
hand. They got into order, and lined the hedges leading to the
town.
The advanced guard of the royal army soon appeared. It consisted
of about five hundred men, commanded by the Duke of Grafton, a
youth of bold spirit and rough manners, who was probably eager to
show that he had no share in the disloyal schemes of his half
brother. Grafton soon found himself in a deep lane with fences on
both sides of him, from which a galling fire of musketry was kept
up. Still he pushed boldly on till he came to the entrance of
Philip's Norton. There his way was crossed by a barricade, from
which a third fire met him full in front. His men now lost heart,
and made the best of their way back. Before they got out of the
lane more than a hundred of them had been killed or wounded.
Grafton's retreat was intercepted by some of the rebel cavalry:
but he cut his way gallantly through them, and came off safe.398
The advanced guard, thus repulsed, fell back on the main body of
the royal forces. The two armies were now face to face; and a few
shots were exchanged that did little or no execution. Neither
side was impatient to come to action. Feversham did not wish to
fight till his artillery came up, and fell back to Bradford.
Monmouth, as soon as the night closed in, quitted his position,
marched southward, and by daybreak arrived at Frome, where he
hoped to find reinforcements.
Frome
Christchurch, summoned the undergraduates of his University to
take arms for the crown. The gownsmen crowded to give in their
names. Christchurch alone furnished near a hundred pikemen and
musketeers. Young noblemen and gentlemen commoners acted as
officers; and the eldest son of the Lord Lieutenant was
Colonel.388
But it was chiefly on the regular troops that the King relied.
Churchill had been sent westward with the Blues; and Feversham
was following with all the forces that could be spared from the
neighbourhood of London. A courier had started for Holland with a
letter directing Skelton instantly to request that the three
English regiments in the Dutch service might be sent to the
Thames. When the request was made, the party hostile to the House
of Orange, headed by the deputies of Amsterdam, again tried to
cause delay. But the energy of William, who had almost as much at
stake as James, and who saw Monmouth's progress with serious
uneasiness, bore down opposition, and in a few days the troops
sailed.389 The three Scotch regiments were already in England.
They had arrived at Gravesend in excellent condition, and James
had reviewed them on Blackheath. He repeatedly declared to the
Dutch Ambassador that he had never in his life seen finer or
better disciplined soldiers, and expressed the warmest gratitude
to the Prince of Orange and the States for so valuable and
seasonable a reinforcement This satisfaction, however, was not
unmixed. Excellently as the men went through their drill, they
were not untainted with Dutch politics and Dutch divinity. One of
them was shot and another flogged for drinking the Duke of
Monmouth's health. It was therefore not thought advisable to
place them in the post of danger. They were kept in the
neighbourhood of London till the end of the campaign. But their
arrival enabled the King to send to the West some infantry which
would otherwise have been wanted in the capital.390
While the government was thus preparing for a conflict with the
rebels in the field, precautions of a different kind were not
neglected. In London alone two hundred of those persons who were
thought most likely to be at the head of a Whig movement were
arrested. Among the prisoners were some merchants of great note.
Every man who was obnoxious to the Court went in fear. A general
gloom overhung the capital. Business languished on the Exchange;
and the theatres were so generally deserted that a new opera,
written by Dryden, and set off by decorations of unprecedented
magnificence, was withdrawn, because the receipts would not cover
the expenses of the performance.391 The magistrates and clergy
were everywhere active. the Dissenters were everywhere closely
observed. In Cheshire and Shropshire a fierce persecution raged;
in Northamptonshire arrests were numerous; and the gaol of Oxford
was crowded with prisoners. No Puritan divine, however moderate
his opinions, however guarded his conduct, could feel any
confidence that he should not be torn from his family and flung
into a dungeon.392
Meanwhile Monmouth advanced from Bridgewater harassed through the
whole march by Churchill, who appears to have done all that, with
a handful of men, it was possible for a brave and skilful officer
to effect. The rebel army, much annoyed, both by the enemy and by
a heavy fall of rain, halted in the evening of the twenty-second
of June at Glastonbury. The houses of the little town did not
afford shelter for so large a force. Some of the troops were
therefore quartered in the churches, and others lighted their
fires among the venerable ruins of the Abbey, once the wealthiest
religious house in our island. From Glastonbury the Duke marched
to Wells, and from Wells to Shepton Mallet.393
Hitherto he seems to have wandered from place to place with no
other object than that of collecting troops. It was now necessary
for him to form some plan of military operations. His first
scheme was to seize Bristol. Many of the chief inhabitants of
that important place were Whigs. One of the ramifications of the
Whig plot had extended thither. The garrison consisted only of
the Gloucestershire trainbands. If Beaufort and his rustic
followers could be overpowered before the regular troops arrived,
the rebels would at once find themselves possessed of ample
pecuniary resources; the credit of Monmouth's arms would be
raised; and his friends throughout the kingdom would be
encouraged to declare themselves. Bristol had fortifications
which, on the north of the Avon towards Gloucestershire, were
weak, but on the south towards Somersetshire were much stronger.
It was therefore determined that the attack should be made on the
Gloucestershire side. But for this purpose it was necessary to
take a circuitous route, and to cross the Avon at Keynsham. The
bridge at Keynsham had been partly demolished by the militia, and
was at present impassable. A detachment was therefore sent
forward to make the necessary repairs. The other troops followed
more slowly, and on the evening of the twenty-fourth of June
halted for repose at Pensford. At Pensford they were only five
miles from the Somersetshire side of Bristol; but the
Gloucestershire side, which could be reached only by going round
through Keynsham, was distant a long day's march.394
That night was one of great tumult and expectation in Bristol.
The partisans of Monmouth knew that he was almost within sight of
their city, and imagined that he would be among them before
daybreak. About an hour after sunset a merchantman lying at the
quay took fire. Such an occurrence, in a port crowded with
shipping, could not but excite great alarm. The whole river was
in commotion. The streets were crowded. Seditious cries were
heard amidst the darkness and confusion. It was afterwards
asserted, both by Whigs and by Tories, that the fire had been
kindled by the friends of Monmouth, in the hope that the
trainbands would be busied in preventing the conflagration from
spreading, and that in the meantime the rebel army would make a
bold push, and would enter the city on the Somersetshire side. If
such was the design of the incendiaries, it completely failed.
Beaufort, instead of sending his men to the quay, kept them all
night drawn up under arms round the beautiful church of Saint
Mary Redcliff, on the south of the Avon. He would see Bristol
burnt down, he said, nay, he would burn it down himself, rather
than that it should be occupied by traitors. He was able, with
the help of some regular cavalry which had joined him from
Chippenham a few hours before, to prevent an insurrection. It
might perhaps have been beyond his power at once to overawe the
malecontents within the walls and to repel an attack from
without: but no such attack was made. The fire, which caused so
much commotion at Bristol, was distinctly seen at Pensford.
Monmouth, however, did not think it expedient to change his plan.
He remained quiet till sunrise, and then marched to Keynsham.
There he found the bridge repaired. He determined to let his army
rest during the afternoon, and, as soon as night came, to proceed
to Bristol.395
But it was too late. The King's forces were now near at hand.
Colonel Oglethorpe, at the head of about a hundred men of the
Life Guards, dashed into Keynsham, scattered two troops of rebel
horse which ventured to oppose him, and retired after inflicting
much injury and suffering little. In these circumstances it was
thought necessary to relinquish the design on Bristol.396
But what was to be done? Several schemes were proposed and
discussed. It was suggested that Monmouth might hasten to
Gloucester, might cross the Severn there, might break down the
bridge behind him, and, with his right flank protected by the
river, might march through Worcestershire into Shropshire and
Cheshire. He had formerly made a progress through those counties,
and had been received there with as much enthusiasm as in
Somersetshire and Devonshire. His presence might revive the zeal
of his old friends; and his army might in a few days be swollen
to double its present numbers.
On full consideration, however, it appeared that this plan,
though specious, was impracticable. The rebels were ill shod for
such work as they had lately undergone, and were exhausted by
toiling, day after day, through deep mud under heavy rain.
Harassed and impeded as they would be at every stage by the
enemy's cavalry, they could not hope to reach Gloucester without
being overtaken by the main body of the royal troops, and forced
to a general action under every disadvantage.
Then it was proposed to enter Wiltshire. Persons who professed to
know that county well assured the Duke that he would be joined
there by such strong reinforcements as would make it safe for him
to give battle.397
He took this advice, and turned towards Wiltshire. He first
summoned Bath. But Bath was strongly garrisoned for the King; and
Feversham was fast approaching. The rebels, therefore made no
attempt on the walls, but hastened to Philip's Norton, where they
halted on the evening of the twenty-sixth of June.
Feversham followed them thither. Early on the morning of the
twenty-seventh they were alarmed by tidings that he was close at
hand. They got into order, and lined the hedges leading to the
town.
The advanced guard of the royal army soon appeared. It consisted
of about five hundred men, commanded by the Duke of Grafton, a
youth of bold spirit and rough manners, who was probably eager to
show that he had no share in the disloyal schemes of his half
brother. Grafton soon found himself in a deep lane with fences on
both sides of him, from which a galling fire of musketry was kept
up. Still he pushed boldly on till he came to the entrance of
Philip's Norton. There his way was crossed by a barricade, from
which a third fire met him full in front. His men now lost heart,
and made the best of their way back. Before they got out of the
lane more than a hundred of them had been killed or wounded.
Grafton's retreat was intercepted by some of the rebel cavalry:
but he cut his way gallantly through them, and came off safe.398
The advanced guard, thus repulsed, fell back on the main body of
the royal forces. The two armies were now face to face; and a few
shots were exchanged that did little or no execution. Neither
side was impatient to come to action. Feversham did not wish to
fight till his artillery came up, and fell back to Bradford.
Monmouth, as soon as the night closed in, quitted his position,
marched southward, and by daybreak arrived at Frome, where he
hoped to find reinforcements.
Frome
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