John Rosworm or Rosworme (''fl.'' 1630 – 1660) was a Dutch or German soldier and military engineer who served the Parliamentarian cause during the English Civil War.

Life

After serving throughout Europe, Rosworm settled in Manchester in 1642 where the town engaged him on a £ 30, six-month contract to lead their defence against the Royalist

Lord Strange Baron Strange is a title which has been created four times in the Peerage of England. Two creations, one in 1295 and another in 1326, had only one holder each, upon whose deaths they became extinct. Two of the creations, that of 1299 and that ...

. Despite an approach from Strange to defect to the Royalists, Rosworm completed the town's makeshift fortifications on 23 September 1642. The siege began the following day and the town was defended until Strange's withdrawal on 1 October. Rosworm marshalled a counter-attack against the Royalists, capturing

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Sta ...

as a base for Parliamentarian forces in Lancashire. Now made

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in Ralph Ashton's regiment, he organised the fortification of

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

, following its capture on 9 February 1643. His original contract with Manchester having ended, he was retained on an annual salary of £60, forgoing his commission from Ashton and committing himself to the

garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

in Manchester, improving its fortification. During service in the capture of Wigan, Rosworm claimed that Colonel Richard Holland had endangered his safety but Holland escaped censure owing to his strong political influence. A bitter enmity lingered between the two men. Rosworm was in action in the assault on Warrington and in the fortification of Liverpool before returning to Manchester, then under threat of attack by the William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle. Rosworm's strategy included defences as far afield as

Blackstone Edge Blackstone Edge ( ) is a gritstone escarpment at 472 m (1,549 feet) above sea level in the Pennine hills surrounded by moorland on the boundary between Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire in England. History Crossing the escarpment is Bl ...

and Blackgate in the

Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Commo ...

above Manchester. Newcastle thought better of his plan. Rosworm subsequently fought with Sir Thomas Fairfax at Nantwich and Sir John Meldrum at Liverpool as director of the siege to regain the town. Liverpool was won by Parliament on 1 November 1644. The years 1644 and 1645 saw renewed approaches from the Royalist faction, friction with Holland and increasing pay arrears. The Manchester townspeople petitioned parliament to help Rosworm's financial situation but to no avail. By 1648, Rosworm was in financially straitened circumstances and he visited London to press his cause. Over the next decade he enjoyed sporadic and reluctant reward from the people of Manchester, though he had firmly established his family there. In reply to his repeated petitions of parliament, in 1651, he was rewarded with a post in

New Yarmouth New Yarmouth is an abandoned farming and forestry community which is now part of the Cape Chignecto Provincial Park in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia near the village of Advocate. Geography New Yarmouth occupies a plateau 244 metres (800 fee ...

to oversee preparations for defence against feared enemy landings. He was subsequently appointed engineer-general for England. After being appointed engineer-general of the army on 19 July 1659, there is no further record of him. It is thought that he died in exile following the Restoration.

References

;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosworm, John Roundheads Dutch military engineers German military engineers British military engineers Year of birth missing Year of death missing 17th-century German engineers