Edgehill

Edgehill, a hill-ridge on the border of Warwick and Oxford shires, 14 miles SSE. of Warwick. A tower, erected in 1760, marks the scene of the first great battle of the Civil War, which was fought on Sunday, 23d October 1642, between 12,000 royalists under Charles I. and 10,000 parliamentarians under the Earl of Essex. It was the intention of Charles, who had been lying at Shrewsbury, to march upon London; and Essex, who had thrown himself into Worcester, marched forward to intercept him, and entered the Warwickshire village of Kineton on the evening of the 22d. Next morning, the royalist army was discovered a little in advance, and drawn up in order of battle on the elevation of Edgehill, 3 miles to the south-east. The king's forces had the advantage in numbers and in cavalry, as well as in position; Essex, however, had the more formidable train of artillery. The royalists began to descend the hill about two o'clock, and Prince Rupert, who led the right wing, charged with his cavalry the left wing of the parliamentarians, broke it, and pursued it to Kineton. This was the fatal movement of the day. The right wing of the parliamentarians had charged and recharged with the greatest success, until, after some stubborn fighting around the royal standard, the royalist infantry broke and retreated toward the hill, and Rupert's cavalry were not available. The result was indecisive, the royalist loss being heaviest, but the advantage on the whole was with the king's forces.