Prince
Rupert and the fresh colonels pressed for fighting, told the king it
dispirited their men to march with the enemy at their heels; that the
Parliament army was inferior to him by 6000 men, and fatigued with
hasty marching; that as their orders were to fight, he had nothing
to do but to post himself to advantage, and receive them to their
destruction; that the action near Worcester had let them know how easy
it was to deal with a rash enemy; and that 'twas a dishonour for him,
whose forces were so much superior, to be pursued by his subjects in
rebellion. These and the like arguments prevailed with the king to
alter his wiser measures and resolve to fight. Nor was this all; when
a resolution of fighting was taken, that part of the advice which they
who were for fighting gave, as a reason for their opinion, was forgot,
and instead of halting and posting ourselves to advantage till the
enemy came up, we were ordered to march back and meet them.
Nay, so eager was the prince for fighting, that when, from the top of
Edgehill, the enemy's army was descried in the bottom between them
and the village of Kineton, and that the enemy had bid us defiance,
by discharging three cannons, we accepted the challenge, and answering
with two shots from our army, we must needs forsake the advantages
of the hills, which they must have mounted under the command of our
cannon, and march down to them into the plain.
Pages:
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260