Charles Cavendish (1620–1643) was an English royalist general, killed at the

battle of Gainsborough The Battle of Gainsborough took place during the First English Civil War on 28 July 1643. The strategically important town of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, was a Royalist base used for harassing the Parliamentarians who were generally domina ...

Life

He was second son of

William Cavendish, 2nd Earl of Devonshire William Cavendish, 2nd Earl of Devonshire (c. 1590 – 20 June 1628) was an English nobleman, courtier, and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1614 until 1626 when he succeeded to the peerage and sat in the House of Lords. Life C ...

and his wife Christiana, born on 30 May 1620, and named after

King Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of Scotland, but after h ...

, his godfather. In 1638 he was sent abroad to travel with a governor, visiting

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

and Turkey. He returned to England in May 1641, and then served in a campaign under the

Prince of Orange Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by the stadtholders of, and then the heirs apparent of ...

. On the outbreak of the

First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. An estimated 15% to 20% of adult males in England and Wales served in the military at some point b ...

he entered the king's troop of guards as a volunteer under the command of Lord Bernard Stuart. At the

battle of Edgehill The Battle of Edgehill (or Edge Hill) was a pitched battle of the First English Civil War. It was fought near Edge Hill, Warwickshire, Edge Hill and Kineton in southern Warwickshire on Sunday, 23 October 1642. All attempts at constitution ...

he distinguished himself and was given the command of the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...

's troop left vacant by the death of George Stewart, 9th Seigneur d'Aubigny. After a disagreement with an inferior officer, he sought an independent command, and obtained from the king a commission to raise a regiment of horse in the north. He then established himself at Newark; active against the parliamentarians, he was requested by the king's commissioners for

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

and

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

as commander-in-chief, and took on the forces of those two counties, with the rank of colonel-general. On 23 March 1643 he captured

Grantham Grantham () is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road. It lies south of Lincoln, England ...

with the aid of a large force drawn from Newark under the command of Colonel Sir John Henderson, and on 11 April defeated the younger Hotham at Ancaster, threatening to break-out into the eastern association area. He received the queen

Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria of France (French language, French: ''Henriette Marie''; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland from her marriage to K ...

at Newark, and escorted her part of her way to

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, taking

Burton-on-Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 censu ...

by assault during the march, 2 July 1643. But attempting to prevent the raising of the siege of

Gainsborough Gainsborough or Gainsboro may refer to: Places * Gainsborough, Ipswich, Suffolk, England ** Gainsborough Ward, Ipswich * Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, a town in England ** Gainsborough (UK Parliament constituency) * Gainsborough, Saskatchewan, Ca ...

, he was defeated by

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

, and fell by the hand of James Berry, Cromwell's captain-lieutenant (28 July 1643). He was buried at Newark; thirty years later his body was moved to Derby, to be interred with his mother.

References

;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cavendish, Charles 1620 births 1643 deaths Royalist military personnel of the English Civil War Cavendish family People killed in the English Civil War English generals Younger sons of earls