![King Charles II (Lely)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/King_Charles_II_%28Lely%29.jpg)
The Blackheath Army was a contingent of the
assembled at
Blackheath Blackheath may refer to:
Places England
*Blackheath, London, England
** Blackheath railway station
**Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England
*Blackheath, Surrey, England
** Hundred of Blackh ...
in
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
during the summer of 1673. The army consisting of old and newly raised regiments were placed under the command of the French
Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
Frederick Schomberg. It was intended to use the Blackheath Army to attack the Dutch coastal province of
Zealand
Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020.
It is the 1 ...
, as part of the English contribution to the
Third Anglo-Dutch War
The Third Anglo-Dutch War ( nl, Derde Engels-Nederlandse Oorlog), 27 March 1672 to 19 February 1674, was a naval conflict between the Dutch Republic and England, in alliance with France. It is considered a subsidiary of the wider 1672 to 1678 ...
. However the Zealand Expedition was abandoned following the defeat of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
at the
Battle of Texel
The naval Battle of Texel or Battle of Kijkduin took place off the southern coast of island of Texel on 21 August 1673 (11 August Old Style, O.S.) between the Dutch Republic, Dutch and the combined Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Fra ...
(August 1673). The newly raised regiments were disbanded and the army returned to its smaller pre-war size.
History
The
standing army
A standing army is a permanent, often professional, army. It is composed of full-time soldiers who may be either career soldiers or conscripts. It differs from army reserves, who are enrolled for the long term, but activated only during wars or n ...
of England remained relatively small during the
Restoration era. In order to meet the needs of the war, several fresh regiments were raised by leading figures such as the
Earl of Carlisle
Earl of Carlisle is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of England.
History
The first creation came in 1322, when Andrew Harclay, 1st Baron Harclay, was made Earl of Carlisle. He had already been summoned to Parliame ...
and
Duke of Albemarle
The Dukedom of Albemarle () has been created twice in the Peerage of England, each time ending in extinction. Additionally, the title was created a third time by James II in exile and a fourth time by his son the Old Pretender, in the Jacobite ...
. The ranks were filled with freshly recruited
levies, with the odd scattering of more experienced men from the standing army or those who had seen foreign service in
Continental
Continental may refer to:
Places
* Continent, the major landmasses of Earth
* Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US
* Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US
Arts and entertainment
* ''Continental'' (al ...
armies. By 1673 the paper strength of the Blackheath force was 12,000 men. Although it was planned to put the force under
martial law
Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory.
Use
Marti ...
, this was abandoned following objections in
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
. There was some rivalry over the command of the army between Schomberg and the
Duke of Buckingham
Duke of Buckingham held with Duke of Chandos, referring to Buckingham, is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There have also been earls and marquesses of Buckingham.
...
, one of the regimental commanders, and the two men almost fought a
duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules.
During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...
. It was widely reported that the
Duke of Monmouth
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranked ...
,
Charles II's eldest son, would be given command in their place but this did not happen.
The plan to attack Zealand was drawn up by Sir
Joseph Williamson. It was based on the belief that England's ally France would make further gains of land against the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
, but a counter-offensive by
William of Orange and his Spanish allies undermined this strategy. The army was supposed to have assembled by June 1673, but several regiments were late in arriving at Blackheath. On 18 July the expedition finally set off. It was first transported to
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...
while
Prince Rupert
Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist cavalr ...
's fleet was to clear a passage for them to cross the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
. On 21 August Rupert's Anglo-French fleet suffered a defeat at the
Battle of Texel
The naval Battle of Texel or Battle of Kijkduin took place off the southern coast of island of Texel on 21 August 1673 (11 August Old Style, O.S.) between the Dutch Republic, Dutch and the combined Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Fra ...
. This led to the cancellation of the Zealand expedition.
[Childs 1976, p. 181–182.]
Following the
conclusion of peace with the Dutch Republic, the army's future remained open to question. It was recurring fear of some in the English Parliament that the King would use a large standing army in peacetime to force
absolute rule
Autocracy is a system of government in which absolute power over a state is concentrated in the hands of one person, whose decisions are subject neither to external legal restraints nor to regularized mechanisms of popular control (except perh ...
on the country. Under pressure, Charles agreed to disband the newly raised regiments and return the army to its smaller pre-war size. By contrast, a decade later Charles' younger brother
James II did not reduce the size of the army following its expansion to meet
Monmouth's Rebellion
The Monmouth Rebellion, also known as the Pitchfork Rebellion, the Revolt of the West or the West Country rebellion, was an attempt to depose James II, who in February 1685 succeeded his brother Charles II as king of England, Scotland and Ir ...
in 1685.
References
{{Reflist, 30em
Bibliography
* Childs, John (1976). ''The Army of Charles II''. Routledge.
* Watson, J.N.P (1997). ''Captain General and Rebel Chief: The Life of James, Duke of Monmouth''. George Allen & Unwin.
Military units and formations established in 1673
1674 disestablishments
1673 establishments in England