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The definitive account of the superior fighting force that powered the English Revolution The New Model Army was one of the most formidable fighting forces ever assembled. Formed in 1645, it was crucial in overthrowing the monarchy and propelling one of its most brilliant generals, Oliver Cromwell, to power during the English Revolution. Paradoxically, it was also instrumental in restoring the king in 1660. But the true nature of this army has long been debated. In this authoritative history, Ian Gentles examines the full scope of the New Model Army. As a fighting force it engineered regicide, pioneered innovative military tactics, and helped to keep Cromwell in power as Lord Protector until his death. All the while, those within its ranks promoted radical political ideas inspired by the Levellers and held dissenting religious beliefs. Gentles explores how brilliant battlefield maneuvering and logistical prowess contributed to its victories-and...

The Leveller movement of the 1640s campaigned for religious toleration and a radical remaking of politics in post-civil war England. This book, the first full-length study of the Levellers for fifty years, offers a fresh analysis of the originality and character of Leveller thought. Challenging received ideas about the Levellers as social contract theorists and Leveller thought as a mere radicalisation of parliamentarian thought, Foxley shows that the Levellers’ originality lay in their subtle and unexpected combination of different strands within parliamentarianism. The book takes full account of recent scholarship, and contributes to historical debates on the development of radical and republican politics in the civil war period, the nature of tolerationist thought, the significance of the Leveller movement and the extent of the Levellers’ influence in the ranks of the New Model Army.

This essay examines the polemical history of the London apprentices' \"Force on Parliament\" of July 26, 1647. Despite its relatively minor political impact, the Force took on a profound significance in partisan print as contemporary polemicists appropriated its events to fit a variety of conflicting ideological narratives. Ultimately, these debates contributed to a massive revival in English print production during the fall of 1647. Although modern historians have not addressed this element of the Force's political legacy, this case study suggests that a more sustained commitment to the manifold connections between politics and polemic during the English Revolution might yield considerable scholarly dividends.

In Part I of Christianity and History, the author asks whether the committed Christian should be more conscious than the uncommitted of some meaning in history. In answering this he offers a critique of Arnold Toynbee and makes some penetrating observations on the teaching of history. Part II is concerned with the author's special field-the Protestant Reformation and its origins. Calvinism, with its dynamic sense of the historical process, receives special treatment, and there is a brilliant essay on Machiavelli and Thomas More. Three of the essays included in this new book appear here for the first time. Originally published in 1964. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

This chapter illustrates the New Model Army's religious and political character. It looks at the strife surrounding its creation and its early reputation for religious radicalism. Right from the start, the New Model had been called ‘the Independent Army’. The chapter also examines Colonel Edward Massie's Western Brigade, noting that there had long been friction between the brigade and the New Model. The superior discipline of the New Model proved to be a telling factor in the Commons' decision to preserve it at the expense of Massie's brigade. It then emphasizes that the survival of the New Model was due to the superior strength of the parliamentary Independents, against the Presbyterians led by Essex and Holles. As with most political victories, the triumph of the Independents over the party of Essex and Holles was not a clean one. The chapter discusses the imminent departure of the Scots, and the Presbyterian triumph in London. It also considers the imminent extinction of the New Model, and analyses the arguments over whether or when to invade London, how to treat with the king, and whether to impose a constitutional settlement on England.

This chapter reviews the newly formed army, the New Model Army, and a new roster of officers that had been approved. It explores how the New Model received priority in funding, supply and recruitment in preference to all the remaining forces under parliamentary authority. The chapter also examines the timely collection of the army's chief revenue source and a common hindrance to the smooth flow of assessment money: the practice of free quarter. With the ordinance for a monthly assessment in place, the Commons next set about raising men for the new army. The chapter then shifts to discuss how the Army Committee organised the recruiting effort. In principle, all men between the ages of eighteen and sixty-five were liable to impressment. The gigantic task of outfitting the new army began as soon as the officer list was complete. The chapter then elaborates on the arms, ammunition, clothing and other equipment needed for the summer campaign. It concludes by investigating how Parliament's success in meeting the challenges of money, supply and recruitment contributed tremendously to Sir Thomas Fairfax's unbroken chain of victories in the coming year.

This chapter investigates when George Monck decided to abandon the cause of the republic and make it his business to bring back the king. It examines how he ensured at every step of the way that no violence broke out among the warring factions, so that he gained virtually the entire credit for this monumental achievement. The chapter argues that Monck's conversion to the cause of monarchy occurred sooner than most historians have allowed. It emphasizes that Monck's consummate management of a potentially rebellious and violent army earned him the extravagant bounty of a profoundly grateful monarch. The chapter then recalls that the body of men whom Monck skilfully guided towards acquiescence in the restoration of monarchy were not the same New Model Army that had purged the Long Parliament, abolished the House of Lords, and overthrown the Stuart monarchy. The chpater considers how the army had become very different—from being a heroic instrument of war that scarcely lost a skirmish between 1645 and 1652, to a guarantor of peace.

This chapter investigates how the crowd's assault on Parliament vindicated the agitators' repeated call for a march on London. It recounts the bloodless occupation of London, helped by the cooperation of the Southwark trained bands (militia). The chapter then shifts to show the fiery spirits in the army which were crying for vengeance against its political enemies. What incensed them was the eleven impeached members, most still sitting in the House, and manipulating Commons business against the agenda of the army. The chapter reveals how the agitators, boiling with indignation, insisted that the army expel all MPs who had continued to sit. Having brought the Commons to heel, the chapter turns its attention to the City of London. The royalist mayor and three high-ranking aldermen were charged with high treason and thrown in the Tower. Most dramatic of all was the destruction of the lines of communication. The chapter explicates the disbandment of January and February 1648 to safeguard the military effectiveness and restore the political unity of the New Model Army. It then reviews the reasons for restructuring the army.

This chapter finds Oliver Cromwell in a valuable but highly precarious position. After the Midlands campaign, he had suddenly made the jump to commanding the horse division in Parliament's main, consolidated, field army, and done so under a commander who enthusiastically valued and supported him. If he were to retain the position for more than a month or two, however, he had rapidly to prove his worth in it. Yet prove it he did, for after being plucked from the verge of retirement into a new and glorious command, he had already achieved sensational results. A possible indefinite future as a general had now been opened up for him. Although his new position had an insecurity which no other officer of the New Model had to endure, and which ensured that he would be removed as soon as he ceased to shine in it.

This chapter first recounts the New Model Army's unpromising start—political infighting, poor strategy, and administrative delay. Parliament's fortunes were at their lowest ebb since 1643. The chapter then follows how Sir Thomas Fairfax's Council of War chose this juncture to urge that Oliver Cromwell be nominated to the vacant lieutenant-generalship of the cavalry. The Commons—though not the Lords—quickly agreed to the request, a mere four days before battle was joined at Naseby. The chapter then narrates the contemporary narratives of the battle of Naseby and the central role of Fairfax and Cromwell. It also discusses the south-western campaign and summer campaign. The chapter then assesses the major conquests of the New Model and royalist resistance: Bridgwater, Bath, Sherborne, Bristol, Basing, Tiverton, Dartmouth and Torrington. It considers one major fortress in royalist hands: Oxford.