This Evening All The Gentlemen Volunteers, With All The Horse Of
The Garrison, With Sir Charles Lucas, Sir George Lisle, And Sir
Bernard Gascoigne At The Head Of Them, Resolved To Break Through
The Enemy, And Forcing A Pass To Advance Into Suffolk By Nayland
Bridge.
To this purpose they passed the river near Middle Mill;
but their guides having misled them the enemy took
The alarm; upon
which their guides, and some pioneers which they had with them to
open the hedges and level the banks, for their passing to Boxted,
all ran away, so the horse were obliged to retreat, the enemy
pretending to pursue, but thinking they had retreated by the north
bridge, they missed them; upon which being enraged, they fired the
suburbs without the bridge, and burned them quite down.
18th. Some of the horse attempted to escape the same way, and had
the whole body been there as before, they had effected it; but
there being but two troops, they were obliged to retire. Now the
town began to be greatly distressed, provisions failing, and the
townspeople, which were numerous, being very uneasy, and no way of
breaking through being found practicable, the gentlemen would have
joined in any attempt wherein they might die gallantly with their
swords in their hands, but nothing presented; they often sallied
and cut off many of the enemy, but their numbers were continually
supplied, and the besieged diminished; their horse also sunk and
became unfit for service, having very little hay, and no corn, and
at length they were forced to kill them for food; so that they
began to be in a very miserable condition, and the soldiers
deserted every day in great numbers, not being able to bear the
want of food, as being almost starved with hunger.
22nd. The Lord Fairfax offered again an exchange of prisoners, but
the Lord Goring rejected it, because they refused conditions to the
chief gentlemen of the garrison.
During this time, two troops of the Royal Horse sallied out in the
night, resolving to break out or die: the first rode up full
gallop to the enemy's horse guards on the side of Malden road, and
exchanged their pistols with the advanced troops, and wheeling made
as if they would retire to the town; but finding they were not
immediately pursued, they wheeled about to the right, and passing
another guard at a distance, without being perfectly discovered,
they went clean off, and passing towards Tiptree Heath, and having
good guides, they made their escape towards Cambridgeshire, in
which length of way they found means to disperse without being
attacked, and went every man his own way as fate directed; nor did
we hear that many of them were taken: they were led, as we are
informed, by Sir Bernard Gascoigne.
Upon these attempts of the horse to break out, the enemy built a
small fort in the meadow right against the ford in the river at the
Middle Mill, and once set that mill on fire, but it was
extinguished without much damage; however, the fort prevented any
more attempts that way.
22nd. The Parliament-General sent in a trumpet, to propose again
the exchange of prisoners, offering the Lord Capel's son for one,
and Mr. Ashburnham for Sir William Masham; but the Lord Capel, Lord
Goring, and the rest of the loyal gentlemen rejected it; and Lord
Capel, in particular, sent the Lord Fairfax word it was inhuman to
surprise his son, who was not in arms, and offer him to insult a
father's affection, but that he might murder his son if he pleased,
he would leave his blood to be revenged as Heaven should give
opportunity; and the Lord Goring sent word, that as they had
reduced the king's servants to eat horseflesh, the prisoners should
feed as they fed.
The enemy sent again to complain of the Royalists shooting poisoned
bullets, and sent two affidavits of it made by two deserters,
swearing it was done by the Lord Norwich's direction; the generals
in the town returned under all their hands that they never gave any
such command or direction; that they disowned the practice; and
that the fellows who swore it were perjured before in running from
their colours and the service of their king, and ought not to be
credited again; but they added, that for shooting rough-cast slugs
they must excuse them, as things stood with them at that time.
About this time, a porter in a soldier's habit got through the
enemy's leaguer, and passing their out-guards in the dark, got into
the town, and brought letters from London, assuring the Royalists
that there were so many strong parties up in arms for the king, and
in so many places, that they would be very suddenly relieved. This
they caused to be read to the soldiers to encourage them; and
particularly it related to the rising of the Earl of Holland, and
the Duke of Buckingham, who with 500 horse were gotten together in
arms about Kingston in Surrey; but we had notice in a few days
after that they were defeated, and the Earl of Holland taken, who
was afterwards beheaded.
26th. The enemy now began to batter the walls, and especially on
the west side, from St. Mary's towards the north gate; and we were
assured they intended a storm; on which the engineers were directed
to make trenches behind the walls where the breaches should be
made, that in case of a storm they might meet with a warm
reception. Upon this, they gave over the design of storming. The
Lord Goring finding that the enemy had set the suburbs on fire
right against the Hythe, ordered the remaining houses, which were
empty of inhabitants, from whence their musketeer fired against the
town, to be burned also.
31st. A body of foot sallied out at midnight, to discover what the
enemy were doing at a place where they thought a new fort raising;
they fell in among the workmen, and put them to flight, cut in
pieces several of the guard, and brought in the officer who
commanded them prisoner.
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