The Battle of Brentford was a small pitched battle of the First English Civil War which was fought on 12 November 1642 between a Royalist army (consisting chiefly of cavalry and a Welsh regiment foot) and two Parliamentarian infantry regiments with horse in support. The Royalist force launched a cavalry attack under cover of morning mist, surprising the Parliamentarians and putting much of their cavalry to flight. The battle resulted in a Royalist victory and the Royalist sack of Brentford, but the Royalist advance on London was checked at the ensuing Battle of Turnham Green.
Background[]
Following the Battle of Edgehill, King Charles I of England captured Banbury and was greeted by cheering crowds on his arrival at his new capital of Oxford on 29 October 1642. Meanwhile, Prince Rupert of the Rhine swept down the Thames Valley and captured Abingdon, Aylesbury, and Maidenhead, failing to take Windsor. King Charles was persuaded by his officers to enter into peace negotiations with Parliament following these successes, enabling Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex to ready the defense of London with the Parliamentarian army. After the peace talks proved inconclusive, King Charles - based in Reading - moved his army closer to London by encamping at Colnbrook at the edge of Middlesex on 11 November. King Charles then ordered his nephew Prince Rupert to take the village of Brentford on the outskirts of London; meanwhile, Essex sent a force to guard the bridge at Kingston upon Thames while another barricaded the small town of Brentford.
Battle[]
The fighting at Brentford
On 12 November 1642, Prince Rupert's Royalist dragoons attacked the two Parliamentarian regiments at Brentford, including Denzil Holles' regiment and Robert Greville's regiment. After the Cavalier cavalry attack was repulsed, a Welsh regiment of foot was ordered into action by Prince Rupert, and the Welshmen captured Richard Wynne's house, a Parliamentarian outpost, enabling the Cavaliers to drive Holles' force over the bridge, out of the town, and into the open fields. John Hampden's infantry brigade from Uxbridge covered the retreat of the surviving Parliamentarians as they withdrew from Brentford, but a large number of Holles' men drowned while attempting to swim across the Thames. The Royalists captured 15 guns, 11 flags, and 500 prisoners, including Captain John Lilburne.
Aftermath[]
The Royalist forces proceeded to sack Brentford, encouraging property-owning Londoners to side with Parliament. On 13 November, Essex assembled 24,000 troops from London's "trained bands" and citizenry on Chelsea Field and advanced to Turnham Green, where a standoff with the Royalists ensued. King Charles decided to retreat to Oxford for the winter rather than risk an attack on the heavily-defended Parliamentarian capital, and a captured Lilburne - initially sentenced to death - was exchanged for Royalist prisoners when Parliament, in turn, threatened to execute captured Cavaliers.