The Battle of Inverkeithing, 1651

Castland Hill in Fife is an odd place for my Cheshire Parliamentarians to start fighting but my club mate Andy has been industrially painting Scots, so this battle seemed like a good way to combine our forces for a game.

The Situation

It is July 1651 and Major General Lambert, with a small English Commonwealth army, has crossed the Firth of Forth to outflank the King Charles II's main army at Stirling. A force of Scottish Royalist troops, under Major General Holborn, have deployed across Lambert's path, in a strong blocking position on the lower slopes of Castland Hill near Inverkeithing.  With Scots reinforcements hastily marching to the join his enemy, Lambert decides to attack before it is too late.

Deployment

The game is played on a 3’ square surface [I actually changed this to 4' when we played as I was having trouble making the 3' board and it seemed very cramped, but that was probably a mistake.  The historical battlefield was tight and the lengthened distance reduced time for manoeuvre]. The Scots deploy first and must start within 12” of the northern table edge. The English may deploy up to 12” in from the southern table edge.

Game Length and Turn Order

The scenario lasts 15 game turns. The English go first on each turn.

Victory Conditions

The English must eliminate seven Scottish units and have at least eight units remaining themselves to win. Any unit leaving the field counts as eliminated [If the English can exit one or more cavalry from the north table edge and still win they can brag they have achieved a major victory]. Any other result is a Scottish victory. 

The Scots Order of Battle

Leaders

Major General James Holborn of Menstrie 

[Holborn's name is spelt many different ways] 

Sir John Browne of Fordell

 

Major General James Holborn's Brigade of Foot

- Sir George Buchannan's (Highland) Regiment of Foot (Average Foot)

- Major General James Holborn’s Regiment of Foot (Average Foot)

- The Master of Gray’s Regiment of Foot (Raw Foot)

Other Foot

- The Marquis of Argyll’s Highland Regiment of Foot (Average Foot)

[It is debatable if Argyll's foot were a significant force at the battle or even present at all.  They were an old regiment but reduced to a very small size.  They may have been recruited up with levies.  We opted to make them average, as a new levy unit stiffened with a good cadre of old veterans] 

- The Maclean Highlanders (Raw Highlanders)

[The Macleans have been heavily romanticised since the battle and their numbers are very debatable]  

- Colonel Harie Barclay's Regiment of Foot (Raw Foot)

[Barclay's had served as the garrison of Aberdeen, and later Burntisland, but were defeated by the English and may have joined with Holborn.]

Sir John Browne of Fordell's Brigade of Horse

- Lord Brechin’s Regiment of Horse (Average Lancers)

- Sir John Browne of Fordell’s Regiment of Horse (Average Lancers)

- Sir Charles Arnott’s Regiment of Horse (Average Lancers)

- Colonel Walter Scott’s Regiment of Horse (Average Lancers)

Other Horse

- Colonel Augustine Hoffman’s Moss Troopers (Average Lancers)

- The Earl of Balcarres’ Regiment of Horse (Raw Lancers)

Artillery

- a light gun battery (Average Light Gun)

[The Scots artillery is conjectural] 

Powder store

D6 Barrels

[These were used to replace out of ammunition results] 

The English Order of Battle

Leaders

Major General John Lambert

Colonel John Okey

Colonel Leonard Lytcott

Colonel Robert Overton

  

English Foot

- Major General John Lambert's Foot - Right wing (Veteran Foot)

- Major General John Lambert's Foot - Left wing (Veteran Foot)

- Colonel George Fenwick's Foot (4 coys) (Veteran Foot)

- Colonel William Daniel's Foot - Right wing (Average Foot)

- Colonel William Daniel's Foot - Left wing (Average Foot)

- Colonel Francis West's Foot (Average Foot)

[West's regiment seems unknown outside of this battle, so may have been an ad-hoc battalion] 

- Colonel Edmund Syler's (Lincolnshire) Foot (Raw Foot)

English Horse

- Major General John Lambert's Horse - 1st Squadron (Veteran Ironsides)

- Major General John Lambert's Horse - 2nd Squadron (Veteran Ironsides)

- Colonel John Okey's Horse - 1st Squadron (Average Ironsides) 

[Okey's Dragoons fought at Naseby but had only recently converted to being a full horse regiment]

- Colonel John Okey's Horse - 2nd Squadron (Average Ironsides)

- Colonel Leonard Lytcott's Horse - 1st Squadron (Raw Ironsides)

- Colonel Leonard Lytcott's Horse - 1st Squadron (Raw Ironsides)

[Lycott's regiment at Inverkeithing is possibly Hasselrigge's.  Lycott had served as a Foot officer in Ireland but was transferred to Scotland in 1650.]  

Artillery

- a light gun battery (Average Light Gun)

- a heavy battery (Average Heavy Gun)

[The English captured a number of guns in their landing at North Queensferry and seemed to have used some in the battle.]

Power store

D6 +1 Barrels  

[These were used to replace out of ammunition results]

Results 

We used some rules based on an ECW variant of Neil Thomas' One Hour Wargames. The English miniatures are mine, with some support from my club mate Dave's Eastern Association troops.  The Scots are Andy's.  

The battle played out quite historically but we made mistakes in the rules and the hill was probably too small, so I won't do a full action report.  Here are the Scots looking splendid as they make their last stand though. 

Big guns and Big wigs

Here's a very short update with a few additional pieces for my ECW project.  First some sub commanders I needed for a game.

Secondly some heavy guns to provide loud, expensive and not altogether effective support for the Foot, Horse and Dragoons.

A longer update to follow soon. 

 

Northern Association Parliamentarians

After a long delay here are some more units for my English Civil War project.  This time it is Sir Thomas Fairfax' own part of the Parliamentarian army that fought at Nantwich in January 1644.  

These units were drawn from the Northern Association, which covered a wide area across Lancashire, Cumbria, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.   These counties were hotly contested with the local royalists and formed a very insecure power base. 

Northern Association Horse

When ordered to relieve Nantwich Fairfax needed to move quickly and in the dead of winter.  He therefore seems initially to have only taken the cavalry then under his command in northern Lincolnshire.  While their exact numbers and composition are open to question, it seems likely that there were around 1800 horse and 500 dragoons by the time of the battle.  It is however, not even certain if the Cheshire horse were present and included in those numbers.  Although, it seems unlikely they would have been elsewhere given the importance of the battle.  Probably Fairfax didn't have many more than a thousand men when he left Lincolnshire.  

The Northern Association regiments thought to be at the battle are listed below.  Unlike Brereton's single large regiment in Cheshire, these regiments must have been small and were probably combined into a number of tactical fighting units.  I have therefore painted just three additional squadrons.

First is Sir William Fairfax’s Regiment of Horse, which had been formed from several Yorkshire troops sometime in 1643.  Originally commanded by Sir Henry Foulis, by early 1644 Sir William Fairfax, cousin to Sir Thomas, had become the regiment's colonel and he remained so until his death at the battle of Montgomery late that year.  Sir William Fairfax commanded the Horse on the Parliamentarian right flank at the battle of Nantwich.

The colours of Sir William's regiment are unknown, so I have used the black & white cornet of Sir John Gell's regiment of Horse as inspiration.  Gell was from the Derbyshire  gentry and secured the county for Parliament in 1642.  His regiment took part in the battles of Hopton Heath and Rowton Moor alongside the Cheshire forces.

The next unit is Colonel John Lambert’s Regiment of Horse.  Lambert was a talented soldier and another Yorkshireman.  He would later become a prominent Major General in the New Model Army.  An interesting side note is that Lambert would lead the New Model forces that crushed the royalist 1659 uprising of Cheshireman Sir George Booth, his erstwhile comrade-in-arms at Nantwich.  Lambert was a staunch republican and a possible successor to Cromwell as Lord Protector.  He tried to oppose the restoration but failed when his army melted away through lack of pay and enthusiasm.  This was partly because his old commander, Sir Thomas Fairfax, refused to fight with him against George Monck, who then commanded the New Model forces in Scotland but who had fought on the Royalist side at Nantwich, and been captured.  These complicated personal relationships show how interconnected the officer corps was and the detail is part of what makes this period so fascinating.  Lambert's Horse carried a Blue and red cornet.  Lambert commanded the left wing of Horse at Nantwich.

The third new unit is Sir Thomas Fairfax’s Regiment of Horse.  Another Yorkshire regiment, Fairfax' own Horse were certainly present and probably one of the stronger units he brought from Lincolnshire.  At Nantwich the regiment carried a nominally blue cornet with a foliated pattern in cloth.  It looks very green in this picture and in the illustration found at the link above, but I've added some additional blue touches to it since.  I may just repaint it plain blue at some point, as that's how it was when the regiment joined the New Model Army.

Some more Yorkshire Horse regiments are believed to have been at the battle.  These were either Sir Thomas Maulverer's or possibly Colonel James Mauleverer’s, and Colonel Hugh Bethell’s.  Sir Thomas' cornet is unknown but James Mauleverer's regiment carried a complex white cornet with hands holding swords piercing a crown and some books.  I've opted out of trying to paint this one so far.  

One of the Maulverers and Sir William Constable seem to have commanded the Parliamentarian horse in the centre or reserve.  Constable was colonel of a regiment of Horse and Dragoons at this time.  His Horse man have been at the battle or in garrison at Hull.  Sir William Fairfax and later Colonel Morgan succeeded him to command of the Dragoon regiment.  Morgan was only a captain at Nantwich but seems to have led the combined dragoons in a forlorn hope and was promoted to major after the battle.  If Constable commanded his Horse and Brereton his foot this possibly left no senior officer to command the disparate troops of dragoons.  This maybe explains why they were merged under Morgan on the day.  I'll paint a second unit of dragoons for Morgan eventually.

Northern Association Foot 

When Fairfax arrived in Manchester he is said to have found the forces there somewhat ragged and disaffected, with the officers more reluctant than the men.  Nevertheless  after a few days the army was under way to the relief of Nantwich.  It is debatable if Fairfax charisma won them over, or if the accounts exaggerate the disaffection.  It might be reasonable to make the Lancashire forces slightly less steady than the Cheshire men but there doesn't seem to be much evidence of a difference from the battle.   

The first regiment I have painted is Colonel John Bright’s Regiment of Foot.  At Pontefract, a year later, they wore green coats lined yellow, so I have gone with that here.  Their colours are unknown but I have made them red as I didn't yet have a red flag and it goes well with the green.  Bright's were a Yorkshire regiment originally but later adopted into the New Model Army, where they changed to red coats.  Bright was not one of the senior Parliament commanders at Nantwich and I meant to add him on his white horse to the regiment base but forgot.  I might correct that later.  This unit can stand in for one of the regiments we have no known coats or colours for but were commanded by a senior officer, such as Colonel Ralph Assheton’s (possibly Ashton) Regiment of Lancashire foot.  They probably fought in the van alongside Brereton's foot.

Colonel Richard Holland’s Regiment of Foot were present and Holland probably commanded a body of foot alongside that of John Booth, both were Lancashire regiments, and J Booth's regiment seems to be distinct to the regiment of George Booth in the Cheshire forces.  Holland's men were accounted particularly mutinous, so could maybe have a chance on not obeying orders at the start of the battle.  However, Fairfax sensibly placed them in the middle of his line, where there was little opportunity for avoiding the fight.  The coats and colours for Holland and J Booth's regiments are unknown, so I have used the grey coats and white colours of Sir John Gell’s Regiment of Foot who fought at Hopton Heath, for one.  

The last unit for now has red coats and a green colour.  They can serve as the other of Holland or Booth's Lancashire foot bodies at Nantwich and then later be a New Model unit or other unknown Parliamentarian regiment.  Fairfax' own New Model foot regiment had red coats and may have carried a green colour.  It's probably also worth noting that I have done all my Parliament foot with grey breeches and some with coloured turnbacks to make them distinct from the more monochrome nature of intended Royalist practice.  When, and to what extent, these ideals ever matched reality is of course open to debate.

This is all the Foot I have painted so far. 

One more Lancashire unit known to have been at Nantwich is Colonel Alexander Rigby’s Regiment of Foot.  They seem to have worn grey coats but had an unknown colour.  They were brigaded with Duckenfield and G Booth's Cheshiremen on the day, so can be assumed to form part of those battalia.

This is all the Horse I have painted so far. 

If I need more Foot that can serve as a New Model Army unit and an earlier parliament unit, one option is Sir Thomas Myddleton's regiment of foot with their red coats and white colours. Myddleton was from the marches gentry and a very active supporter of parliament.  His regiments, including Horse and Dragoons, served widely in Cheshire and the marches, notably at the battle of Montgomery and the siege of Chester.