Articles of impeachment and accusation, exhibited in Parliament against Colonell Nathaniel Fiennes touching his dishonorable surrender of the city and castle of Bristoll, by Clement Walker and William Prynne, Esquires : together with a letter from Mr. Prynne to Colonell Fiennes.

Articles of impeachment and accusation, exhibited in Parliament against Colonell Nathaniel Fiennes touching his dishonorable surrender of the city and castle of Bristoll, by Clement Walker and William Prynne, Esquires : together with a letter from Mr. Prynne to Colonell Fiennes.

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Title page

Die Mercurii, 15 Novemb. 1643.

ARTICLES OF Accusation and Impeachment, Against Colonell Nathaniel Fiennes, Late Governour of the City and Castle of Bristoll, touching his dishonourable surrender therof to the enemy, contrary to his Trust and Duty, by Clement Walker and William Prynne Esq.

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ARTICLES OF Accusation and Impeachment, Against Colonell Nathaniel Fiennes,
Late Governour of the City and Castle of Bristoll, touching his dishonourable surrender therof to the enemy, contrary to his Trust and Duty, by Clement Walker and William Prynne Esq.

1. INprimis, That he the said Colonell Nathaniel Fiennes, did suddenly apprehend, imprison, & remove Colonell Thomas Essex, late Governour of the said City and Castle from his government there, upon pretence that hee intended to deliver up the same (not then fully fortified, or sufficiently provided to withstand any long siege) into the hands of the common enemies of the Kingdome and Parliament; contrary to the trust reposed in him▪ and that hereupon, hee the said Col. Fiennes obtained the government of the said City and Castle for himselfe, and undertooke to defend and keep the same, to the uttermost extremity against the said enemy, for the use of the King and Parliament, and not to surrender the said City and Castle, or either of them to the said enemies, or to any other person whatsoever, without the previous consent and order of the Parliament.

[Page]2. Item, That the said Colonel, soone after hee became Governour of the said City and Castle, did by Martiall law, apprehend, condemne and execute some chiefe Citizens thereof; Namely, Master Yeomans, Master Butcher, and others, onely for intending to deliver up the same to Prince Rupert, when he came first before Bristoll (not then fully fortified and stored) though they did not actually surrender the same.

3. Item, That he the said Colonel did put the Parliament, Kingdome, Country and City, to a vast expence in fortifying and furnishing it, and the Castle thereof with Forts[?], Sconce, Canons, Ammunition, Arms, Victualls, Provision of all sorts, and with Garrisons sufficiently able to defend and maintain the same for Three moneths space or more, against all the power of the Enemies, that might or did come against the same; and did likewise promise and undertake to divers Gentlemen and Inhabitants thereof, to defend the same for so long space or more, in case they should be besieged.

4. Item, That he the said Colonell, notwithstanding the said premisses, when the enemy came before the said City and Castle, with no extraordinary Forces or Ammunition able to force the same, and besieged them not above foure dayes at the most, did before ever the enemy had taken any of the out Forts, or Sconces about the same; or had made so much as the least battery or assault upon the walls of the said City or Cast [...]e, or any myne or breach into any of the Forts thereof, contrary to his former trust, promises, duty, and the honour of a Souldier, most dishonourably, cowardly, and traiterously delivered up the said City and Castle, with all the prisoners, [Page] Canons, Ammunition, Artillery, Armes, Military Provisions, Magazines, Victualls therein, and the very Colours too, without, and against the consent of the Parliament, or his Excellency their Generall, into the hands and power of Prince Rupert, and other common enemies of the Kingdome and Parliament, to the extraordinary great danger, dishonour, losse and prejudice of the whole Kingdome and Parliament, the evill examples of other Governours and Townes, the losse of most of the Westerne parts of England, and great incouraging, inriching, and strengthening of the said enemies, both by Land and Sea, and that upon very dishonourable Articles, to which hee was no wayes necessitated, and had no care to see them punctually performed by the enemy, when complaint thereof was made to him for reliefe, to the great prejudice and impoverishing of the Inhabitants and Garrison sou diers there.

5. Item, That the said Colonell, without the privity or consent of any Councell of Warre, did of his owne head, send out for a parley with the enemy, when the Officers and souldiers advised and perswaded the contrary, and would have repulsed the enemies, and defended the said City and Castle to the utmost, that the surrendering up of the same was principally occasioned by earnest perswasion, advice, and cowardice of the said Governour, contrary to his trust and duty to keepe the same: And that the said Governour, when as the Councell of warre unanimously voted upon the parley, that it was neither safe, nor honorable for them to depart the Towne, unlesse they might march thence with halfe their Armes at least, and with their Colours; thereupon, after some private conference with Colonell Ierrard, one of the enemies Commanders, [Page] in the Garden, without the privity, and contrary to the Vote of the said Councell, did make & insert the last Article, that they should leave all their Canon and Ammunition, with their Armes and colours behinde them, and returning to them out of the Garden, told them plainly, that they must now deliver up all to the enemy, but what was expressed in the Articles, he then produced, and leave their Armes and colours behind them, to the said councells and fouldiers great discontent. And whereas by those very Articles, the said Town and castle were not to be delivered up till nine of the clocke the next morning, nor the enemies to enter them, till the souldiers, and other Gentlemen were marched out, the said Governour was so over hasty to surrender up the same, that hee delivered them up to the enemy above one houre, or more, before the houre agreed on; and suffered the enemies to enter and possesse them before the souldiers were marched out, whereby many of the souldiers were pillaged in the castle and towne, and divers of the Inhabitants best affected to the Parliament, plundered before the houre of surrender came, to their great losse and undoing.

6. Item, That he the said Colonell, during the foure dayes siege of the said City and castle, did not give any such incouragement to the souldiers and Officers (who bravely defended the same, and slew neere one thousand of the enemies best men, by his own printed Relation, with the losse onely of eight persons) which much discouraged them, as his duty and place required, and they expected; and that when a small number of the enemies, not two hundred (who gave themselves for lost,) had entred the Line of Commumication [Page] at the weakest place, which vvas worst guarded; On Wednesday morning the 26. of Iuly last (being bravely repulsed by the Souldiers with great losse in all places else) he the said Colonell for two houres space or more (during which time no more Enemies entred or approached the said Breach) both neglected and refused to command or incourage the Officers and Souldiers, who offered to beate them out in due time, as he was advised and pressed to do by Captain Bagnall, Livetenant Colonell Damson, and divers others, who would have undertaken that service; and instead of incountering the said Enemies (against whom the very women offered to go on with their children to dead the Canon, if the Souldiers were afraid, rather then the City and Castle should be yeelded) called off the Souldiers and Officers from the Line and Out-workes (that the Enemies might the better enter them without resistance) upon pain of death, much against their wills, who should and would have hindered and repulsed the Enemies, and discouraged and hindred such as were forwards to have cut them off, sounding a parly when the Enemies were so beaten that they threw down their Armes, and ready for quarter, insomuch that divers of the Souldiers and Inhabitants, cryed out they were betrayed, and some of the Souldiers brake their Armes in discontent, swearing they would serve the Parliament no more.

7. Item, That the said Governour, notwithstanding his promises to defend the said City and Castle, and dispute it to the last, had yet a reall intention to deliver up the same to the Enemy before ever they were Besieged by them, and no thought at all to defend it to the uttermost, or till it might be relieved by his Excellency, as [Page] appeares by the premised Articles, by the said Governours refusall to send the Prisoners formerly taken out of the said Castle, before the Enemy approached, when moved to it, saying to Sir William Waller and others, that he would detain those prisoners still there, to make his owne Conditions and Composition the better with the Enemie, if they came before it, by his commanding Master Hassard the Master Gunner there, to lay aside a Reserve of Thirty Barrells of Powder, with Match and Bullet answerable, to which when he was reduced, he would then Treat with the Enemy, (which he did before he was reduced to this large Reserve) by other speeches to the like effect, And by his moving Sir William Waller to depart from Bristoll, before it was besieged, who otherwise would have adventured his life in its defence.

8. Item, That he the said Governour, when he surrendred the said Castle to the Enemy, had at least sixty Barrells of Powder therein (besides what was in the City and Forts) being ten more then were in Gloucester when it was first besieged, Five hundred Canon shot, fifty great Granadoes, fourteen hundred weight of Match or more, great store of Musket Bullets, and Tin to make more, A Match-maker, a Bullet-maker, with materialls to make Match and Bullets, and all manner of provisions and Victuals, sufficient to maintain one Thousand men for three or four moneths space at least, Eleven Canons therein Mounted, (besides 44. Canons mounted in the City and Forts) All which were surrendred to the Enemy before any Battery or assault made against the said Castle (though he had men more then enough by his own relation to defend it) contrary to his promise made to divers Inhabitants of the said City, best affected to the Parliament, [Page] to defend the same to the uttermost, and to dispute every foot thereof with the Enemy, and to keep it, or to lay his bones therein; who thereupon sent in their Estates, with provisions for them and their families, for three moneths or more, into the said Castle, where the said Colonell promised to secure and defend the same, most of which their Estates, were there seized on by the Enemy to their undoing, By reason the said Colonell admitted the Enemies into the said Castle, and delivered up the keyes thereof unto them, before the houre agreed on in the Articles, such was his extraordinary haste, to quit the same.

9. Item, That the said Colonell, to aggravate this his dishonourable action, hath presumed to justifie the same, not onely before the Honourable House of Commons, by word of mouth, but likewise before the whole Kingdome and world in Printed Relations and Letters, wherein he hath laid an extraordinary great Blemish both upon the Honourable Houses of Parliament, and his Excellency the Earle of Essex, their Lord Generall, by publishing in Print, That had he Manfully held out the said City and Castle to the last, yet he could not have expected any relief from them in six or eight weekes space at the least, when as Glocester since Besieged with a far greater force then Bristoll was, yet relieved by them in lesse then halfe the time (as Bristoll doubtlesse might and would have beene) and held out a full mone [...]hs siege or more, as Bristoll might have done, though he the said colonell to adde to his former offence, and hinder or anticipate the Relief of Glocester, that it might be lost as Bristoll was, gave out in speeches to some Members of the house of Commons and others, and namely to [Page] Master Samuel Browne, and Master Iohn Sedgwick, that he would lose his head, or be hanged, if Glocester could or would hold out three dayes siege, if the Enemy once came before it, or words to the like effect.

10 Item, That the said city and castle were so cowardly and unworthily delivered up to the enemies, that they have since published in print, and given out in speeches that the said Colonell Fines did bestow the same upon his Majesty, that they were delivered up to them beyond their expectation, and that they could not have taken the same, had it been defended by the Governour, who eventually at least if not intentionally, did but strongly fortifie, and plentifully store the same, with all manner of provisions to make it Tenable, at the Kingdoms and the Countreys extraordinary expence, to render up the same to the Enemies with great advantage to them, and far more prejudice and dammage to the Commonwealth, as soon as it was made defensible.

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SIR,

ON Friday night late I received a Note from your Foot-boy, without name or date, with a datelesse, nameles Paper inclosed, pretended to be a Proclamation of my Lo [...] Generals, to appear at a Councell of War on Thursday next (not expressing what time of the day) to be held in the army, (without mentioning in what certain place, the army being dispersed into divers quarters remote from Town) to justifie what I have written concerning the cowardly and unworthy surrendring up of Bristoll; which generall, the consciousnesse of your own guilt makes you (it seems) to appropriate wholly to your self, though not named by me: which I shall be ready to do (since thus unexpectedly challenged into the Lists) when I shall be legally summoned thereunto, at a certain competent time and place. To which end (since your Foot-boyes namelesse, dateleffe Summons, without any Warrant under my Lord Generalls Hand and Seal; with the datelesse, namelesse, placelesse; sealesse Proclamation inclosed; are but grosse artificiall flourishes to blinde the world, and meer Nullities in Martiall, Common, Civil, Canon law, as all professors of them wil instruct you; and such an individuum vagum, which makes [Page] intelligent men conceive, that you intend onely to abuse the world with flourishes, bravadoes, and never to put your self upon a reall publike triall. I and Mr. Walker, to set you into a Legall reall way of triall, have both joyned in two Petitions to my Lord Generall and the House of Commons, to appoint a generall Councell of War, for the hearing of this publike case in a convenient time (the next Wednesday if you please) and fitting place within Westminster or London, in presence of the House of Commons, of which you are a Member, to the end you may vindicate your Honour, and make good your printed Relation to the House, your Letter to his Excellencie, and delusory rude answer to Mr. Walkers, before them, if able, to your just Purgation, and our disreputation; or else give him and me leave to disprove them, and justifie what we have severally written (my self by no lesse authority then a Committee of the House of Commons) to your just dishonour, capitall censure, and maintenance of our reputations, which you would wound, if possible, to repair your own. Truth seeks no corners, fears no colours, Trialls; neither shall I in this common cause, wherein the Kingdom hath suffered more damage by Bristolls surrender, then [Page] your life or estate are ever able to satisfie, though you should lose both for it (as may peradventure chance to do, if you make no better a defence of your cause, in which you have now most unwillingly ingaged me past all retreats) then of this city and castle, and that by your own Martiall Law (to omit ancient Presidents) who dispossessed Colonell Essex of his Governorship of that place, hanged up two Citizens there, and ransomed others, onely for attempting to deliver up Bristoll to the Enemy before it was fortified and furnished; when you did them a far greater kindnesse, to fortifie and furnish it with all sorts of Ammunition and Provisions, at the Parliaments and Kingdoms cost, and then most valiantly surrendred it, with all the Canon, Ammunition, Treasure, Provisions, Ships, Prisoners, Arms, Colours in it; and if we beleeve Mercurius Aulicus, bestowed them on the King, to the irrepairable losse and danger of the whole Kingdom, before any one Sconce taken, any one shot made against the Cities or Castles walls, or the least assault of either of them. And yet such hath the carriage of this strange action hitherto been, on your part, that ‘Dat veniam Coruis, vexat Censura Columbas.’ [Page] You censure, quarrell all other men who dare be so valiantly honest as to dispraise this your Heroicke State-Service, which hath quite undone them. Sir, if you be as really confident of your owne innocency and valour, as you are quarrellous of our pretended calumnies of them, (who beleeve we have written far more trueth of you, then your self hath done) I beleeve you will cordially second our Petitions, for such a fair publike triall as we desire, and the world expects, after so many printed Bravadoes; otherwise the whole Kingdom will pronounce you guilty, and all men of Armes, of honour, proclaime you a coward, if you flee a fair publike Triall; wherein I shall punctually follow those Texts you point me to, Exod. 23-1, 2, 7. (which I wish you had made use of in this cause) and ayme not so much at victory, or private ends, as verity and publike good in this legall combat, in which I hope to manifest my selfe a true friend to my Countrey, and no enemy to your self, but a pious one, of your owne seeking.

Yours, William Prynne.

Lincolns-Inne, 17. Novem. 1643.

FINIS.

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§

§

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ARTICLES OF Impeachment and Accusation, Exhibited in PARLIAMENT, Against Colonell Nathaniel Fiennes, Touching his dishonorable surrender of the City and Castle of BRISTOLL;

BY Clement Walker and William Prynne, ESQUIRES.

Together with a Letter from Mr. Prynne To Colonell FIENNES.

LONDON: Printed in the Yeer, 1643.

Die Mercurii, 15 Novemb. 1643.

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THe humble Petition of Clement Walker and William Prynne, Esqs concerning Mr. Nathaniel Fiennes and the surrender of Bristoll, was this day read-in the House of Commons, and Articles of Accusation of the said Mr. Fiennes, touching the surrender of the said city of Bristoll and castle, was this day likewise presented to the said House; A Letter from Master Prynne to Mr. Nathaniel Fiennes was was likewise read.

Ordered by the House of Commons, That they shall be carefull, that there be a a fair and equall Triall of Mr. Nathaniel Fiennes.

Resolved, &c.

That these Articles, intituled, Articles of Accusation and Impeachment against Colonell Nathaniel Fiennes, late Governour of the castle and city of Bristoll, touching [Page] the dishonorable surrender thereof to the Enemy, contrary to his trust and duty, by Clement Walker and William Prynne Esqs shall be now read. The said Articles and Impeachment were accordingly read.

The Petition and Articles were signed, Clement Walker and William Prynne; and they were both called in at the Bar; being demanded whether the Names subscribed, were of their hand writing; They did avow the Names to be of their own handwriting, and did avow the said Petition and Articles.

Ordered that a copy of the Articles attested under the Clerks hand, be forthwith sent to my Lord Generall.

H: Elsynge, Cler. Parl. D. Com.

Information about this book

Title statement

Articles of impeachment and accusation, exhibited in Parliament against Colonell Nathaniel Fiennes touching his dishonorable surrender of the city and castle of Bristoll, by Clement Walker and William Prynne, Esquires : together with a letter from Mr. Prynne to Colonell Fiennes.

Fiennes, Nathaniel, 1607 or 8-1669, defendant.

Edition statement

1643

Publication

Publisher

Text Creation Partnership,

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Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) :

Date

2003-01 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1).

ID [DLPS]

A25937

ID [STC]

Wing A3856

ID [STC]

ESTC R986

ID [EEBO-CITATION]

12127800

ID [OCLC]

ocm 12127800

ID [VID]

54640

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(EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A25937)

Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 54640)

Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 241:E78, no 3)

Source

— Articles of impeachment and accusation, exhibited in Parliament against Colonell Nathaniel Fiennes touching his dishonorable surrender of the city and castle of Bristoll, by Clement Walker and William Prynne, Esquires : together with a letter from Mr. Prynne to Colonell Fiennes., Fiennes, Nathaniel, 1607 or 8-1669, defendant., Prynne, William, 1600-1669., England and Wales. Parliament..

Extent

16 p.

[s.n.],. London :: 1643.. (Reproduction of original in Thomason Collection, British Library.)

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