The battle of Naseby was fought on the foggy morning of 14th June 1645 and is considered one of the most important battles in the English Civil War.
After almost three years of fighting, the 14,000 strong Parliamentarian (Roundhead) New Model Army took on the Royalist (Cavalier) army of King Charles I comprising less than 9,000 men, in what would to be the final key battle of the war.
When the two forces finally found each other in the fog, the Royalist centre advanced first to meet the Parliamentarian infantry; soon both sides were involved in fierce hand-to-hand fighting.
During a cavalry charge on the western flank Prince Rupert’s Royalist forces swept aside the Parliamentarian horsemen, chasing them from the battlefield and on to attack the baggage train.
Meanwhile on the main field of battle the Parliamentarian forces slowly gained the upper hand, so much so by the time Prince Rupert’s cavalry returned, it was too late to save the Royalist infantry.
The main Royalist military force had been decimated; the king had lost his best officers, seasoned troops and artillery. All that now remained was for the Parliamentarian armies to wipe out the last pockets of Royalist resistance, which it did within the year.
Click here for a battlefield map.
Key Facts:
Date: 14th June, 1645
War: English Civil War
Location: Naseby, Northamptonshire
Belligerents: Royalists and Parliamentarians
Victors: Parliamentarians
Numbers: Royalists around 9,000, Parliamentarians around 14,000
Casualties: Royalists around 1000, Parliamentarians around 150
Commanders: King Charles I and Prince Rupert of the Rhine (Royalists), Sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell (Parliamentarians)
Location:
More Battles in the English Civil War:
| Battle of Edgehill | 23 October, 1642 |
| Battle of Braddock Down | 19 January, 1643 |
| Battle of Hopton Heath | 19 March, 1643 |
| Battle of Stratton | 16 May, 1643 |
| Battle of Chalgrove Field | 18 June, 1643 |
| Battle of Adwalton Moor | 30 June, 1643 |
| Battle of Lansdowne | 5 July, 1643 |
| Battle of Roundway Down | 13 July, 1643 |
| Battle of Winceby | 11 October, 1643 |
| Battle of Nantwich | 25 January, 1644 |
| Battle of Cheriton | 29 March, 1644 |
| Battle of Cropredy Bridge | 29 June, 1644 |
| Battle of Marston Moor | 2 July, 1644 |
| Battle of Naseby | 14 June, 1645 |
| Battle of Langport | 10 July 1645 |
| Battle of Rowton Heath | 24 September, 1645 |
| Battle of Stow-on-the-Wold | 21 March, 1646 |
