“Fall on!” Convinced of victory, troops of Parliament’s Eastern Association army break ranks and attack their fleeing Royalist opponents! . The Eastern Association was the organisation of counties in the east of England - Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, and Hertfordshire - that funded and administered an army which eventually became a mainstay of the Parliamentarian military effort towards the end of 1644. Commanded by the Earl of Manchester, whose regiment we reenact, the Eastern Association not only helped shore up Parliament’s war effort but also provided the veteran troops who would form the backbone of the New Model Army and fostered the rise of Oliver Cromwell, who went from raising a volunteer cavalry troop to being King in all but name. Manchester had been one of the chief opponents of the king in the House of Lords and his Eastern Association army enjoyed success in its campaign against the northern forces of the Earl of Newcastle, defeating the Royalists in Lincolnshire, relieving Hull, capturing Lincoln, and then heading north to besiege York and, eventually, helping gain victory at Marston Moor. . The tensions and arguments in its ranks between Presbyterians and Independents presaged the coming battle for control of Parliament between the two groups, and the political, religious, and military make-up of the Eastern Association remains a fascinating but sometimes misunderstood aspect of the first English Civil War. . Shaun Stothard . #easternassociation #parliament #historyofparliament #suffolk #norfolk #hertfordshire #essex #cambridgeshire #war #battle #photoreenactment #reenactment #reenactors #reenacting #reenactorstyle #reenactorslife #reenactorsofinstagram #reenactmentphotography #livinghistory #history #photohistory #historicalreenactment #17thcentury #sealedknot #dailyphoto #photoaday #photooftheday #photoadaychallenge #englishcivilwar #instadaily https://www.instagram.com/p/B_vo3ZFncW-/?igshid=1kskfpstjse8o
