The petition of the three colonels or The Humble Petition of Several Colonels of the Army was a document of the

English Interregnum The Interregnum was the period between the execution of Charles I on 30 January 1649 and the arrival of his son Charles II in London on 29 May 1660 which marked the start of the Restoration. During the Interregnum, England was under various forms ...

. Written by the Republican agitator

John Wildman John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

in the name of

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 ...

, Thomas Saunders, and Matthew Alured—three colonels in 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 ...

—it criticised

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 Ki ...

and

the Protectorate The Protectorate, officially the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, refers to the period from 16 December 1653 to 25 May 1659 during which England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and associated territories were joined together in the Com ...

, called for the institution of the Council of Officers' Agreement of the People of December 1648 and was circulated in the army during 1654. On 18 October that year, after the petition had been ceased and the three officers arrested,

published it .David Plant
Timeline 1654 Octoberhttp://www.british-civil-wars.co.uk
/ref> Okey was

court-martialled A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

, found not guilty of treason, and set free once he resigned his commission. Saunders was not tried after he resigned his commission. Alured was cashiered from the Army and spent a year in prison because, in addition to signing the petition, he had stirred up dissatisfaction among English troops stationed in Ireland.Woolryc
p. 610
/ref>

Notes

References

* 1654 in England 17th-century documents English Civil War {{England-hist-stub