Cromwell’s Most Complete Victory
Whalley had two horses shot under him, and received a severe sword
wound, by which a hand was nearly hewn off, yet he did not quit the field.
Slinging their lancers by leathern thongs, the Scottish Lancers,
now at close quarters, betook them to their swords and pistols, and fought
with incredible resolution; while two of the regiments of infantry stood
their ground against the English horse till they were cut to pieces in
their ranks. One entire
brigade of Highlanders, who had no share in the vile fanaticism that
inspired their comrades, is said to have perished on the spot, as not a
man would turn his heel to save his life; while the regiment of Kirkness
lost no less than 30 officers, including its Colonel, who was slain, as he
lay, wounded and helpless, in a thicket near Broxmouth House, where his
gravestone, bearing his name, is still to be seen.
Cromwell states that a charge of “the stoutest regiment” the
enemy had was repelled at push of pike by his own, under
Lieutenant-Colonel Goffe and Major White.
“The horse in the meantime did, with a great deal of courage and
spirit, beat back all opposition, charging through the bodies of the
enemy’s horse and foot, who were, after the first repulse given, made by
the Lord of Hosts as stubble to their swords.”
Formed in five corps or divisions, the Scottish battalions of the
main body presented a steady front, bordered by fire and glittering steel;
but the ruins of their right wing were hurled upon their centre in such
confusion that their own horse then began to tread them under foot.
Then, on seeing the right wing routed and the centre in confusion,
the left gave way at once, as did the reserve, for ere the head of his
column reached the scene of operations the whole Scottish line had given
way, after a disastrous and bloody conflict of two hours, and, as Cromwell
had foreseen, all was over! A
total and irremediable rout ensured; but the moment it began the English
trumpets sounded a halt, till the army sang the 117th Psalm and
the cavalry cooked be gathered for the pursuit of eight miles, with a
result so bloody that the battle of Dunbar was long remembered by the
people of Scotland with acrimony as the “Tuesday’s chase,” the
battle having taken place on that day.
Of all the victories won by Cromwell, Dunbar was the most complete;
more than 3,000 killed and wounded covered the field.
Of the wounded no exact lists were ever made up, but 1,000 of them
were sent next day in country carts, a mock present to the Countess of
Winton. There were taken
upwards of 10,000 prisoners, of who were 18 field officers, 47 captains, 7
captain-lieutenants, 204 subalterns, and 15 sergeants.
There were also taken 200 stand of colour 15,000 stand to arms, 32
pieces of cannon, and all the tents, ammunition, and baggage.
The Scottish Retreat
One body of the Scots retreated to Belhaven; another only to the
town of Dunbar; a third was pursued by Colonel Hacker as far as Haddington,
and, in the words of Clarendon, “no quarter was given, till the pursuers
were weary of killing.” Peculiar
severity was exercised upon the clergy, many of whom were cut down in the
act of bawling out assurances of victory.
The sectarian Dragoons in the face, with the view of disfiguring
them, designedly slashed others. Many
of the prisoners who were wounded Cromwell dismissed on the field, the
remainder he marched towards England.
Had Leslie been permitted to act on his original plans, the
possibility of fighting under such disadvantageous circumstances as those,
which occurred, would never have been afforded; and Cromwell spoke the
truth when he denied that any share of the merit attaching to the
achievement belonged to him. General
Leslie, enraged by the defeat of his army through the interference of the
mad zealots and insolent clergy, resigned his baton; but being prevailed
upon to resume the command, he made Stirling his head quarters, and there
he remodelled the army, which, apart from forces under Middleton, was now
reduced to 16,000 infantry and 7,000 horse with 14 pieces of cannon.
Attired in a black periwig, plumed bearer, and suit of buff,
“which,” says an old writer, “sets of the blue ribbon and George
suspended from his person,” the young king Charles II rode daily through
their ranks.
If we may credit some accounts, the loss of the English was so
trifling that Major Rokesby and a cornet were the only commissioned
officer who fell, with 40 private soldiers; an assertion which, from the
number of slain among the defeated, carries falsehood in its front, for
Whitelock says there were 4,000 Scots killed on the field and pursuit, and
Cromwell has it about 400 English.
Cromwell spent the day after the battle at Dunbar writing letters
to the House of Commons and to his wife regarding his victory, tidings of
which were brought to London in three days by Sir John Hipsley.
At that time, General Ludlow tells us, “it was my fortune, with
others of the Parliament, to be with the Lord Fairfax at Hampton Court,
who seemed to much to rejoice at it.”
The colours taken were ordered to be hung in Westminster Hall, and
medals of gold and silver were struck in honour of the victory, and
distributed to the officers and men.
Most miserable was the fate of the Scottish prisoners of all ranks.
By their guards, under Sir Arthur Heslirige, they were stripped of
most of their clothing and otherwise ill-used.
They were more than 5,000 in number, yet no food was procurable,
the whole country having been laid waste by General Leslie’s orders.
Weak and faint, many were raving with the agonies of hunger.
At Morpeth, daring alike the swords and carbines of Hesilrige’s
cavalry, they burst from the highway into a field of cabbages, which they
devoured raw. Even the leaves
of the trees and twigs were of the hedgerows were taken by these
unfortunates; and such was the effect of such sustenance, after all they
had undergone, that they perished in hundreds by the wayside.
Hesilrige, in his letter to the English Parliament, mentions that
they had then been eight days without any food.
Only 3,000 lived to reach Newcastle cold, naked, weary, footsore,
sick, and sinking-and was thrust into the great church of St. Nicholas.
When the trumpets sounded for the next day’s march, 143 were
found past ever marching more. Many
more died by the way on the march to Durham.
Two hundred who survived all their miseries were sent to Virginia.
