WEE have thought good to give you the best and truest Relation of our late passages, and Gods providence towards us. After seve­rall dayes marching; on thursday night last about seven of the Clock wee faced the Kings body at Cropready bridge neare Ban­bury, and all day, the next day, and yesterday till noone being Saturday, about ten of the clock in the forenoone wee discovered their Army to be upon the march towards Daintry: and as some (who were since taken prisoners) affirme, their entent was from thence to York: Whereup­on command was given to some particular persons to ad­vance after them, and fall in their Reere: But it proved the middle of their whole body.

[Page 4] According to the order, our Regiment of Horse and Collonell Vandrosses, advanced under the Command of Lievtenant Generall Middleton, and Captain Butler, Adju­tant Generall, and foure Companies of Farnbam foote, and five Companies of Sir Williams owne Regiment, un­der the Command of Lievtenant Collonell Baines, (some­time a Brewer in London) Quarter-Master Generall to the foote.

They had placed a Guard to secure Cropready-bridge, which wee readily beat off, and made the bridge our owne by a partie of Dragoons, and past over the River between us and Banbury, (for till then we were on the one side of the River, and they on the other) being over the River, through mis-information, wee too speedily pursued the enemy, (being enformed that their whole bodie was marched away, when as a third part of them were left be­hinde unknowne to us. Wee pursued them above a mile, till we came to a bridge, where their Foot made a stand, drew up and fac'd us; wee being within Musket shot of them, onely our foure eldest Troops, (viz.) Sir Arthurs, Captaine Okees; Captaine Foleyes, and Captaine Gard­ners: They overthrew a Carriage to barricado the bridge, and planted it with Muskettiers. This occasioned our Re­treat back againe, being unwilling too farre to engage our selves, having no Foot within above halfe a mile of us, and discovering their Army behind us, upon our retreat wee discovered the party of Foot (drawne over with us) by an unresistable body of the enemies Horse, of some thirty Troops, and two regiments of Foot put to disorderly re­treat, which hastened our march back againe, and comming back we found the way to the bridge within a quarter of a mile, stopt with the enemies Horse and Foot, who were got between our Foot and the bridge: For whose reliefe (al­though our way backe lay on the right hand, we advanced up to their body on the left hand up the hill, and with our foure Troops charged the Kings owne Regiment, and put [Page 5] them to a retreat; but the other Troop commming downe upon us, (there being of them in all some three Regiments) with whom we were in no case able to deale, we were neces­sitated to retreat very disorderly, having put their body of Horse into a combustion, having slain three Colonels, wher­of one was Sir William Butler, a Papist of Kent, Lieutenant generall of Horse (viz.) Wilmut was sore wounded, and his Lieutenant Generall taken prisoner, and committed to the custody of two Souldiers, who in our disorderly re­treat lost him againe: We slue divers other of their Officers both in our charge and in our retreat, the way being fil­led with their foot and horse, many whereof were woun­ded sorely, slew others, and took some prisoners. Com­ming back to the Bridge, the Hamblets very honoura­bly and stoutly made good the Bridge, kept back the ene­my, and recovered three peeces of our Ordnance, which we had lost; we having lost some half a dozen small peeces besides, which were unadvisedly drawne over before the Foot were ready to march along with them, and the men running a way with the horse, we could not draw them back again: being over th bridge, we rallied together, and drew our body toward anoher place of the river, where the enemy made shew of comming over, but we kept them on the o­ther side; although we could not attain what we attempted, yet we hereby bravely caused them to draw back their whol body from their march onward toward Daintry, w^ch must retard their journy to York. Having faced them several hours together, towards evening the King sent his trumpeter to our General, w^th a message to this effect, that if our General plea­sed, he would send a Herald of Armes, which at the head of our Army should proclaim a gracious Message. The answer from our Generall was returned thus, That he had no com­mission to treat with his Majestie concerning peace; but if he pleased to send to the two Houses of Parliament, wee should remain his faithfull subjects. In the time of our facing wee exchanged severall Cannon shot, as we conceive fourty shot apiece, but through Gods mercy, all their Cannon shot gave [Page 6] us but the losse of one horse, not one man; but our shot, the Lord so ordering it, caused them to draw backe their body out of our reach, where they abode all night. Wee tooke in the fight two Horse Colours of theirs, and we lost three Foot Colours, we have lost Lievtenant Colonell Baines, who as we heare, would not take quarter, we have lost Col. Wembs, Collonell of our Artillery, and Lievtenant Collonell Ba­ker, Lievtenant Collonell to Sir Williams Regiment of foote.

Wee have lost of ours, and taken prisoners neare upon one hundred, or six score. Captaine Okes has lost some ten men, whereof one Master Cresey it one: Captain Gard­ner hath lost neer as many: Captain Foleys foure, and three wounded, whereof one Thomas Steme, an apprentise for­merly to Master Lloyd, who lived in Watling-street is one, being shot into the thigh, the thigh-bone broke, and run through both buttocks with a tuck: We this day sent him and another, one John Nicklis to Warwicke, there to be care­fully provided for. We have lost but one Officer in all our Regiment, praised be God, and that is Captain Perries Cor­net.

It was an infinite mercy of God we had not been all lost, which we desire may bee taken notice of, with solemne thankes to God almightie, who was our onely helper: as al­so for the double good effect it wrought; viz. it drew their body back from marching toward York; and wee relieved some six hundred horse that were comming to joyne with us, whom the enemy had faced above a quarter of an houre, comming from Northampton, who had not wee take this course, in all probabilitie they had been all cut off. Wee have taken a Major of the Kings owne Regiment, his name is Webbe, he is mortally wounded, not likely to recover: Our Officers and Souldiers are very well, and very cheerefull, willingly content to goe on with the work, if we can but be supplyed with bread and water, our lodging having for severall nights been, and still is, on Gods cold earth, over-shaddowed with the Canopie of [Page 7] heavens sweet Firmament, and God in much mercy hath afforded us sweet temperate weather; nothing hath been so short with us as Bread for men, the earth afford ng grasse for our horses. Wee still continue facing one ano­ther, the River between us, wee maintain Cropready-bridge, and hinder their passage over to us, waiting what they will do, and expecting further supplyes, either from Col. Brown, Lord Gray, Collonel Murey, or the Earle of Denbigh, whom it pleases God to send. They have a far larger bo­dy of horse then wee, but for foot wee dare incounter, being no ways fearfull to deal with their horse.

Wee desire not to bury the mercies of God in obli­vion, but to tell of his loving kindnesse, and desire that all our friends may be acquainted with his goodnesse to us in this delivery, that they may be the better stirred up, both in publique and private to blesse God, and re­joyce with us.

We desire your prayers for our good successe, and that is the greatest comfort that under God wee have, that wee have a stock of prayers still going on among all Gods people. His Majesty was under a tree in the field not above Pistoll▪shot where wee charged his horse, as some of our own men, and some of their prisoners af­firm. Wee have about 80. of theirs prisoners; there is now another Trumpeter come from his Majesty, but for what we know not, it is sure no parley, for our Cannon playes at them. My Capt. man, Henry Philips the Barbar is taken prisoner: my man Thomas Suger charged with mee, and came off, blessed be God, safe and well, and did good service.

All our Officers and Souldiers in this businesse beha­ved themselves very stoutly. Lievtenant Generall Middle­ton, and Adjutant Generall Butler, charged with us very gallantly; Lievtenant Generall Middleton was acciden­tally dismounted, and one of Captain Okes his men dis­mounted, and mounted him on his horse, and after brought off the Lievetenant Generalls owne horse and pistols, [Page 8] for which the Lievtenant Generall hath made him a Cap­tain Lievtenant, and he shall be his childe so long as he lives. I fear the Post will be gone, I take leave, a thou­sand times farewell, the Lord preserve you and us all, which is the desire of thy truly loving Brother till death,