| Battle of Sedgemoor | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theMonmouth Rebellion | |||||||
 The Morning of Sedgemoor,Edgar Bundy | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Kingdom of England | Monmouth Rebels | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Louis de Duras John Churchill Henry FitzRoy | James Scott Ford Grey Nathaniel Wade | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 3,000 | 4,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 200 killed or wounded | 1,300 killed or wounded 2,700 captured | ||||||
TheBattle of Sedgemoor was the last and decisive engagement between theKingdom of England and rebels led by theDuke of Monmouth during theMonmouth rebellion, fought on 6 July 1685,[1] and took place atWestonzoyland nearBridgwater inSomerset, England, resulting in a victory for the English army.
It was the final battle of theMonmouth Rebellion and followed a series of skirmishes around south-west England between the rebel forces of the Duke of Monmouth, and the Royal Army, still loyal toJames II. Victory went to the Government and about 500 prisoners fell into their hands. Monmouth escaped from the battlefield but was captured, taken to London and executed nine days later. Many of Monmouth's supporters were tried during theBloody Assizes. Many were transported abroad, while others were executed bydrawing and quartering.
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It was the final battle of theMonmouth Rebellion, by which the rebelJames Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, attempted to seize the English throne from his uncleJames II of England. James II had succeeded to the throne on the death of his brotherCharles II on 2 February 1685; James Scott was Charles' illegitimate son.
After Monmouth landed from theDutch Republic atLyme Regis inDorset,[2] there had been a series of marches and skirmishes throughoutDorset andSomerset. Eventually Monmouth's poorly equipped army was pushed back to theSomerset Levels, becoming hemmed in atBridgwater on 3 July. He ordered his troops to fortify the town. The force was made up of around 3,500,[3] mostlynonconformist,artisans and farm workers armed with farm tools (such aspitchforks).[2]
The royalist troops, led byLouis de Duras, 2nd Earl of Feversham, andColonel John Churchill, were camped behind theBussex Rhine at Westonzoyland. The infantry forces included 500 men of the1st Regiment of Foot (the Royal Scots), known as Dumbarton's Regiment, under Lieutenant-Colonel Douglas; two battalions of the 1st or King's Royal Regiment of Guards (Grenadier Guards), respectively led byHenry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton, and Major Eaton; 600 men of the Second Regiment of Guards (later theColdstream Guards) under Lieutenant-Colonel Sackville; five companies of the Queen Dowager's or theTangier Regiment (later 2nd Foot), known as "Kirke's Lambs"; and five companies of the Queen Consort's Regiment (Kings Own Royal Regiment), also known as Trelawny's Regiment, which was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Churchill, Colonel John Churchill's younger brother. The Horse and Foot, the Royal Train of Artillery was camped along the road to Bridgwater. The Royal Cavalry, with seven troops of 420 men of the Earl of Oxford's, the Kings Regiment of Horse (Blues and Royals), led by Colonel Sir Francis Compton; the King's Own Royal Dragoons; and three troops of the King's Horse Guards (Lifeguards) made up the army.[4]
The royalist force included the following regiments:
The Duke eventually led his troops out of Bridgwater at around 10:00 pm to undertake a night-time attack on the King's army. They were guided by Richard Godfrey, the servant of a local farmer, along the old Bristol road towardsBawdrip. With their limited cavalry in the vanguard, they turned south along Bradney Lane and Marsh Lane, and came to the open moor with its deep and dangerousrhynes.[14]
There was a delay while the rhyne was crossed and the first men across startled a royalist patrol. A shot was fired and a horseman from the patrol galloped off to report to Feversham.Lord Grey of Warke led the rebel cavalry forward and they were engaged by the King's Regiment of Horse which alerted the rest of the royalist forces.[4] The superior training of the regular army and their horses enabled them to rout the rebel forces by outflanking them.
Monmouth escaped from the battlefield with Grey and they headed for the south coast disguised as peasants. They were captured nearRingwood,Hampshire.[4] Monmouth was taken to theTower of London, where he was, after several blows of the axe, beheaded.[2]
A letter written by the Earl of Shaftesbury in 1787 provides more detail as to Monmouth's capture:[15]
The tradition of the neighbourhood is this: viz. That after the defeat of the Duke of Monmouth at Sedgemoor, near Bridgwater, he rode, accompanied by Lord Grey, to Woodyates, where they quitted their horses; and the Duke having changed clothes with a peasant, endeavoured to make his way across the country to Christchurch. Being closely pursued, he made for the Island, and concealed himself in a ditch which was overgrown with fern and underwood. When his pursuers came up, an old woman gave information of his being in the Island, and of her having seen him filling his pocket with peas. The Island was immediately surrounded by soldiers, who passed the night there, and threatened to fire the neighbouring cotts. As they were going away, one of them espied the skirt of the Duke's coat, and seized him. The soldier no sooner knew him, than he burst into tears, and reproached himself for the unhappy discovery. The Duke when taken was quite exhausted with fatigue and hunger, having had no food since the battle but the peas which he had gathered in the field. The ash tree is still standing under which the Duke was apprehended, and is marked with the initials of many of his friends who afterwards visited the spot.
The family of the woman who betrayed him were ever after holden in the greatest detestation, and are said to have fallen into decay, and to have never thriven afterwards. The house where she lived, which overlooked the spot, has since fallen down. It was with the greatest difficulty that any one could be made to inhabit it.
After the battle, about 500 of Monmouth's troops were captured and imprisoned in St Mary's Parish Church in Westonzoyland, while others were hunted and shot in the ditches where they were hiding. More were hanged from gibbets erected along the roadside. The royalist troops were rewarded, with Feversham being made aKnight of the Garter, Churchill promoted to major-general and Henry Shires of the artillery receiving a knighthood. Other soldiers, particularly those who had been wounded, received allowances ranging from £5 to £80. Some of the wounded were among the first to be treated at the newly openedRoyal Hospital Chelsea.[4]
The king sentLord Chief JusticeJeffreys to round up the Duke's supporters throughout the south-west and try them in theBloody Assizes atTaunton Castle and elsewhere. About 1,300 people were found guilty, many being transported abroad, while some were executed bydrawing and quartering.[16]Daniel Defoe, who would later write the novelRobinson Crusoe, had taken part in the uprising and battle. He was heavily fined by Jeffreys, losing much of his land and wealth. Two brothers Benjamin Hewling, a commander of a troop of horse, and William Hewling, lieutenant of foot, were among those condemned to death.[17][18][19] Benjamin Hewling was hanged rather than drawn and quartered following a payment of £1000 by his sister.[20][21]
James II was overthrown in acoup d'état three years later, in theGlorious Revolution.
The Battle of Sedgemoor is often referred to as the last pitched battle fought on English soil, but this depends on the definition of'battle', for which there are different interpretations. Other contenders for the title of last English battle include: theBattle of Preston inLancashire, which was fought on 14 November 1715, during theFirst Jacobite Rebellion; and theSecond Jacobite Rebellion'sClifton Moor Skirmish, nearPenrith, Cumberland, on 18 December 1745. TheBattle of Culloden, fought on Drumossie Moor to the north-east ofInverness on 16 April 1746, was the last pitched battle fought on British soil.[22]
The Battle of Sedgemoor is depicted in detail at the climax of the plot inArthur Conan Doyle's historical adventure novelMicah Clarke.[23] The Battle also appears in Blackmore'sLorna Doone, where the hero arrives on the battlefield as the battle is finishing, and is then escorted home by the King's soldiers to safety.[24] Likewise,The Royal Changeling (1998) byJohn Whitbourn describes the rebellion, with some fantasy elements added. The Battle of Sedgemoor both opens and concludes the novel.[25] A collection of poems (Sedgemoor), exploring the battle and consequences of the rebellion, was written by poet and academic Malcolm Povey and published by Smokestack Books in 2006. The poems move between 1685 and the present day, as anarrative technique.[26] Povey's book received praise, especially for its originality: "Not many poets try something as different and ambitious as this. It deserves to be widely read."[27] The battle is commemorated in Val Wake's poem "Dead Willows Mourn". Wake, an Australian born journalist and author, lived in Westonzoyland from 1973 to 1979.[28] Events surrounding the battle occupy the first few chapters ofRafael Sabatini's novelCaptain Blood.[24] The battle is also included/mentioned in the beginning of the 1935 movieCaptain Blood.[29] The battle serves as the historical background to a series of murders in the novelDown Among the Dead (2020) by Damien Boyd.
TheSealed Knot re-enactment society have re-enacted important parts of the rebellion's campaign, on the 300th anniversary in 1985, and again in 2005. For the first re-enactment, the folk trioStrawhead produced an album of various songs from the time and written especially, entitled 'Sedgemoor'.[30] The Battle of Sedgemoor was also a central plot in the 1972 HTV seriesPretenders, which was broadcast in 13 half-hour episodes.[31] Amural depicting the battle can be found on display atSedgemoor motorway services on the North carriageway of theM5.[32]
Benjamin Hewling Battle of Sedgemoor.
51°06′56″N2°55′42″W / 51.11556°N 2.92833°W /51.11556; -2.92833
