The Battle of St Fagans was a

pitched battle A pitched battle or set-piece battle is a battle in which opposing forces each anticipate the setting of the battle, and each chooses to commit to it. Either side may have the option to disengage before the battle starts or shortly thereafter. A ...

during the

Second English Civil War The Second English Civil War took place between February to August 1648 in England and Wales. It forms part of the series of conflicts known collectively as the 1639-1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, which include the 1641–1653 Irish Confed ...

in 1648. A detachment from the

New Model Army The New Model Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Th ...

defeated an army of former Parliamentarian soldiers who had rebelled and were now fighting against Parliament.

Background

In April 1648, Parliamentarian troops in Wales, who had not been paid for a long time and feared that they were about to be disbanded without their arrears of pay, staged a

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gov ...

rebellion under the command of Colonel

John Poyer John Poyer (died 25 April 1649) was a Welsh soldier in the Parliamentary army during the English Civil War in South Wales. He later turned against the parliamentary cause and was executed for treason. Background Poyer was a merchant and the ma ...

, the Governor of

Pembroke Castle Pembroke Castle ( cy, Castell Penfro) is a medieval castle in the centre of Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in Wales. The castle was the original family seat of the Earldom of Pembroke. A Grade I listed building since 1951, it underwent major restorati ...

. He was joined by Major-General

Rowland Laugharne Major General Rowland Laugharne (1607 – 1675) was a member of the Welsh gentry, and a prominent soldier during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, in which he fought on both sides. Laugharne began his career as a page to Robert Devereux, 3rd ...

, his district commander, and Colonel

Rice Powell Rice Powell was a Welsh Colonel in the Parliamentary army during the First English Civil War. In the Second English Civil War he allied himself with the Royalist cause. He fought in South Wales and played a significant part in events between 1642 a ...

. Sir

Thomas Fairfax Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (17 January 161212 November 1671), also known as Sir Thomas Fairfax, was an English politician, general and Parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War. An adept and talented command ...

sent Colonel Thomas Horton with a detachment from the

to secure

south Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

for Parliament and to crush the rebellion. Horton had one and a half regiments of Horse (

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry in ...

), most of Colonel

John Okey Colonel John Okey (24 August 1606 – 19 April 1662) was a political and religious radical who served in the Parliamentarian army during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A regicide who approved the Execution of Charles I in 1649, he escaped to ...

's regiment of

Dragoon Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat w ...

s and most of a regiment of Foot (

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

), totalling just under 3,000 well-disciplined troops. At first, he advanced westwards through Wales towards

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...

, but then had to march hastily to

Brecon Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the c ...

to forestall an uprising there. From Brecon, he then marched south to Cardiff, occupying the town before the Royalists could do so. His force took up quarters in and around St Fagans, west of the town. Another army under

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three ...

himself was also marching towards Wales. Laugharne was anxious to defeat Horton before Cromwell could reinforce Horton's detachment. After a brief skirmish on 4 May, he launched an attack on 8 May. Laugharne's army consisted of about 7,500 infantry but only 500 cavalry.

The battle

A stream known as the Nant Dowlais separated the two armies. In the early morning, Laugharne sent 500 infantry across the stream to attack Horton's centre, hoping to take the Parliamentarians by surprise inside the village. This advance guard was routed by a charge by some of Horton's cavalry, and the Parliamentarians were able to deploy in the open. The battle now became general in the open area to the north west of the village. In the centre, high hedges hampered Horton's horsemen, but Okey's dragoons forced both Royalist wings back. Eventually, Parliamentarian horse under Major Bethel were able to make a charge against the Royalist left and rear. The Royalists panicked and broke. Over 200 of Laugharne's men were killed and another 3,000 were taken prisoner. The legend that the

river Ely The River Ely ( cy, Afon Elái) is in South Wales flowing generally southeast, from Tonyrefail to Cardiff. The river is about long. The Ely's numerous sources lie in the mountains to the south of Tonypandy, near the town of Tonyrefail ...

ran red with blood may be an exaggeration given the casualties, but the veteran parliamentarian advantage in horses meant they were able to repeatedly rout numerically superior numbers on the Royalist side.

Aftermath

Laugharne retreated with what was left of his army to join Colonel Poyer at Pembroke while Colonel Horton marched to besiege Tenby Castle which was held by about 500 Royalists under the command of Colonel

. Cromwell, with another detachment of three regiments of foot and two regiments of horse of the New Model Army, had reached

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east o ...

on the day of the battle and proceeded to cross into South Wales shortly afterwards. He left Colonel

Isaac Ewer Isaac Ewer (died c.1650) was an English soldier and one of the Regicides of King Charles I of England. Biography He was likely born in Essex; in his last will and testament, he describes himself as of Hatfield Broad Oak and before the Civil Wa ...

in command of a small force to besiege the Royalist garrison of

Chepstow Castle Chepstow Castle ( cy, Castell Cas-gwent) at Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales is the oldest surviving post-Roman stone fortification in Britain. Located above cliffs on the River Wye, construction began in 1067 under the instruction of the Norman ...

which was under the command of Sir Nicholas Kemeys, and pressed on to join Horton at

Tenby Tenby ( cy, Dinbych-y-pysgod, lit=fortlet of the fish) is both a walled seaside town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the western side of Carmarthen Bay, and a local government community. Notable features include of sandy beaches and the Pembroke ...

, arriving on 15 May. Leaving Horton with enough men to deal with Powell, Cromwell marched the rest of the army to lay siege to Pembroke. When these fortresses fell, Cromwell was able to march back into England to defeat an invading Scottish army at the decisive Battle of Preston. Cromwell had been considerably delayed dealing with Laugharne, but would have been even more so if Laugharne's field army had not been effectively destroyed at St Fagans.

Citations

References

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