Newbury, battle of
Newbury, battle of, 1644. Charles I's staggering victory at Lostwithiel in September 1644, when most of Essex's infantry had been forced to surrender, enabled him to take the initiative once more. While the parliamentarians regrouped and re-equipped, Charles moved to relieve Banbury, Donnington castle near Newbury, and Basing House. On 27 October he dug in at Newbury to face a superior force under senior command of Manchester. The parliamentary army was large enough to permit an enveloping move, but the east–west attack was badly co-ordinated and beaten off. Under cover of darkness, the royalists retreated to Oxford, but they had shown more enterprise than their opponents and boosted morale.
J. A. Cannon
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Newbury, battle of
