The Battle of Roundway Down was a battle of the First English Civil War which was fought on 13 July 1643 near Devizes, Wiltshire, between the Royalist army of Ralph Hopton and the Parliamentarian army of his old friend William Waller. In a rematch of the earlier Battle of Lansdowne, the Royalists decisively defeated the army of Parliament and secured South West England for King Charles I until the end of the war. Royalist forces marching to the relief of troops besieged in Devizes were confronted by a Parliamentarian force on Roundway Down near the town. The Royalist cavalry swiftly broke the Parliamentarian wings, but their center fought on until it was attacked in the rear by a force coming out of Devizes.
History[]
Following the hard-fought Battle of Lansdowne, the Royalist army of Ralph Hopton withdrew from Bath to Chippenham, while the Parliamentarian general William Waller's losses were replaced by reinforcements from Bristol. Waller set out from Bath with 5,000 troops, hoping to exploit Hopton's precarious position to destroy his old friend's army. Waller reached Chippenham on 9 July, forcing Hopton to march south to Devizes. There, the Royalists agreed that Prince Maurice of the Palatinate and 300 cavalry would break out and race to Oxford for reinforcements, leaving Hopton and his 3,000 Cornish soldiers to hold Devizes. Maurice reached Oxford on the morning of 11 July, and Lord Wilmot set out for Devizes with 1,500 cavalry and Prince Maurice's force.
Battle[]
From 11 to 12 July, Waller failed to convince his friend Hopton to surrender Devizes to the Parliamentarians, and, on the morning of 12 July, Waller began his assault on Devizes. After hours of artillery bombardment and fierce hand-to-hand combat, the Royalists remained in command of Devizes. Early next morning, Wilmot's relief force neared the Parliamentarian camp at Roundway Down. Waller abandoned the siege to intercept the Royalists, but the Parliamentarian cavalry were swept from the field due to a lack of support from their infantry out of the latter's fear of friendly fire. Now isolated and with 3,000 Royalists from Devizes advancing against his rear, Waller ordered his infantry into defensive squares and began withdrawing towards the northwest. Byron's cavalry captured Parliamentarian artillery and turned the cannons against the retreating enemy, causing the Parliamentarians to break apart. Waller and the remainder of his cavalry fled to Bristol, leaving the remainder of his force to be cut down by Wilmot's cavalry or surrender.
Aftermath[]
The Parliamentarian army in South West England was virtually wiped out at Roundway Down in the most comprehensive Royalist victory of the war. Less than two weeks later, the Royalists captured the vital port of Bristol, establishing links with their supporters in Ireland.