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Defoe, Daniel, 1661-1731

"Memoirs of a Cavalier A Military Journal of the Wars in Germany, and the Wars in England. From the Year 1632 to the Year 1648."

We took this for the only opportunity we could have
to get off, and joining together, we made across the place of battle
in as good order as we could, with our carabines presented. In this
posture we passed by several bodies of the enemy's foot, who stood
with their pikes charged to keep us off; but they had no occasion, for
we had no design to meddle with them, but to get from them.
Thus we made a swift march, and thought ourselves pretty secure; but
our work was not done yet, for on a sudden we saw ourselves under a
necessity of fighting our way through a great body of Manchester's
horse, who came galloping upon us over the moor. They had, as we
suppose, been pursuing some of our broken troops which were fled
before, and seeing us, they gave us a home charge. We received them as
well as we could, but pushed to get through them, which at last we did
with a considerable loss to them. However, we lost so many men, either
killed or separated from us (for all could not follow the same way),
that of our three regiments we could not be above 400 horse together
when we got quite clear, and these were mixed men, some of one troop
and regiment, some of another.


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