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n Monmouth made plans to depart, making for Keynshamnand thence to the Severn, where he would cross and then destroy the bridge,nusing the river to guard his right flank as he advanced north into Cheshire,nwhere friends were waiting. Mr William Sparke, a Monmouth sympathiser viewednthe King’s forces from the church tower of Weston, and sent his servant,nRichard Godfrey, to inform Monmouth of their numbers and positions. Godfreynreported to Monmouth in Bridgwater, and from the spire of the church there,nsaid to be the tallest in Somerset, the forces ranged against him were pointednout on the vast, dismal levels.
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| Bridgport Church Spire |
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nTwo thousand foot were at Penzoy-pound, in Zog,nunder Weston Zoyland, where a further five hundred horse were camped. There were morenmilitia at Middlezoy and Othery, with the artillery ranged alongside thenBridgwater road. Monmouth’s council advised him that the King’s forces could benattacked to advantage provided they were not intrenched; Richard Godfrey, thenlocal, went out to spy, returned with the news that the King’s men were notnintrenched and was paid a guinea. If the artillery were avoided, Monmouth couldnstrike in the night, so a strategy was made to advance across Sedgemoor, but innhis path lay three rhines or ditches, including a great rhine (the word rhymesnwith ‘seen’). This rhine no longer exists, and should not be confusednwith the later Bussex-rhine or the much broader Sedgemoor Drain or ‘cut’; itncontained no more than two feet of water but the mud at the bottom was deep enough to cover anman.
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| The Duke of Monmouth |
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nCountry folk brought news that Lord Feversham’s men were drinking thenlocal cider and going to their beds over in Weston, so at seven in the eveningnof July 5th Monmouth’s men rendezvoused on Castle-field in the eastnside of the town. The King’s officers and men may well have been drunk onnscrumpy, but many of Monmouth’s men were also half-cut when they leftnBridgwater that evening. At about 11 pm on Sunday July 5th, Monmouthnmarched at the head of his men into the narrow Somerset lanes, making for thenvillage of Weston.
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| The Duke of Monmouth |
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nAt Peasy Farm, on the Axbridge road, Monmouth left hisnforty-two baggage wagons, with a light guard, and turned into the Northmoor.nGodfrey, the manservant turned spy, who had guided them through the lanesnbecame indispensable on the open moor, leading them to the ford (also locallyncalled a plungeon or steaning) over the Black Ditch, on to the Langmoor rhine,nwhere in the darkness and fog Godfrey missed the crossing, leading to delay andnconfusion. The long, narrow, straggling column on the moor made its waynforward, to within a mile of the King’s forces and divided into two, with footnsoldiers on the left and cavalry on the right; it was, as yet, undiscovered.
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| The Battle of Sedgemoor |
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nNonone knows for sure what happened next. Some say an officer, feeling he had beennpassed over for advancement, deliberately fired a pistol; others say anmusketeer stumbled in the dark and discharged his weapon by accident. Eithernway, the alarm was raised and the King’s men were roused. Lord Grey startednforward with the cavalry, but his advance was checked by the last great rhine,nand he was challenged by sentries. The royal troops fired into the rebelnhorsemen, scattering them and driving them back; these were, it should benremembered, local volunteers, farm labourers and so forth, mounted on farmnhorses, both unused to warfare and armed combat. It is no surprise they werenrouted.
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| The Battle of Sedgemoor |
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nThe Kings Guards and the Blues rode in at speed from Weston andnscattered the insurgents. As they rode back, they spread fear and panic amongstnthe foot soldiers following them, who also began to retreat, taking the ammunitionnwains and baggage train with them. Monmouth brought his column of foot forwardnto the edge of the unexpected rhine, formed them up and began to fire on thenKing’s regiments on the opposite bank, but again, his men were untrainedncountrymen who tended to fire high. The King’s men, in contrast, were regularnsoldiers, disciplined and used to following orders; his cavalry were veteransnand knew how to fight on horseback. John Churchill, later to become the famousnDuke of Marlborough, commanded his infantry to great effect, and adding greatlynto the distress of Monmouth’s raw men. The King’s artillery were brought up andncaused even further damage and as dawn began to break,
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| The Defeat of the Rebels |
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nMonmouth could see thatnhis plans had gone awry. His men ran in panic, crying for ammunition that wasnno longer to be had, leaping the ditches and fleeing into the moorland. Thenroyal troops and horsemen pursued them, and whereas three hundred of Monmouth’snmen had been killed in the battle, one thousand were slaughtered in the followingnpursuit, mainly in the ditches and a cornfield beyond, with another twelvenhundred taken prisoner. Monmouth’snoriginal force had been numbered between four and six thousand, depending onndiffering reports; the King’s army had been about half that, but their betterndiscipline and experience was invaluable and that, together with Monmouthnlosing the element of surprise, gained them the day – they lost only about twonhundred of their number.
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nThroughout the day, the King’s men savagely ran downnthe fleeing rebels, into Bridgwater town where many were killed in the streets,nothers taken and slain on the roads and in the lanes. Locals were pressed intondigging a great pit, in which the dead and the nearly dead were stacked andnburied. Gibbets were set up along the road between Bridgwater and Weston andnmen hanged on each, some left to rot in chains, some quartered and put onnspikes.
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nThe Battle of Sedgemoor was the last battle to be fought on English soil. There are some other skirmishes and sieges which are claimed to be the last, but these are not really to be taken as serious claims. The last pitched battle between opposing armies in England was Sedgemoor.
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nTomorrow – The fate of Monmouth …
