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“At the South end of Preston towards Wiggon is a Bridge, called Ribble Bridge, which the Scots stoutly kept, being much secured from our shot by flanking hedges; but Lancashire foot drew out their Pikes and charged over the Bridge and by push of Pike gallantly vanquished the resolute opposers, and made way for our horse, who did great execution for two miles, tooke Duke Hamilton’s trunks and plate, but the night made us all draw back to Preston.” - account from the first day of the Battle of Preston in a letter from Major John Sanderson to his father, 20 August 1648
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Throughout 1648 Sanderson, an officer in the parliamentary army serving in Colonel Lilburne’s Regiment of Horse, recorded his daily activities on the blank pages of an almanac. This diary has survived to provide a unique insight into the life of a cavalry officer in the second Civil War. The text of the diary was first published in 1921 and Sanderson’s terse diary entries give a first hand account of events in the north of England in 1648 which led in January 1649 to the execution of King Charles I.
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The second Civil War, which lasted from April to August 1648, was a short conflict that pitted former allies, the Scottish and Parliamentarian English, against each other after the Scots sided with King Charles, who was still a prisoner of Parliament. The five-day battle of Preston was a shambolic defeat for the Scottish, while effectively sealing the king’s fate.
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@davevforce
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#pike #battle #mist #fog #weapons #photoreenactment #reenactment #reenactors #reenacting #reenactorstyle #reenactorslife #reenactinglife #reenactorsofinstagram #reenactmentphotography #livinghistory #history #photohistory #historicalreenactment #historicalcostume #17thcentury #sealedknot #dailyphoto #photoaday #photooftheday #photoadaychallenge #historyhit #englishcivilwar #instadaily #englishheritage #nationaltrust
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“His defensive arms are only an open Caske or Head-peece, a back and brest with a buff coat under his armes [armour]; his offensive Armed are a good Harquebusse, or a Carbine hanging on his right side in a belt by a sweble [swivel], a flask and Carthareg [cartridge] case, spanner, and two good firelock pistols” - John Vernon, describing the equipment for cavalrymen in 1644.
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A cavalryman brandishes their ‘firelock’ pistol, known also as a 'flintlock’. Around half of such pistols used by cavalry during the English Civil War were 'wheel-lock’ pistols which spun a spring-loaded steel wheel against a piece of pyrite to generate sparks, which then ignited gunpowder in a pan. The other half were early forms of 'flintlock’, which used a piece of flint striking against a steel plate to produce the sparks for ignition.
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At the beginning of the first civil war, Parliament’s cavalry abided by the old Dutch-style tactics of using cavalry defensively and as a support for infantry. Cavalrymen would advance towards the enemy and discharge their pistols before retiring to reload. This tactic was painfully inadequate to the more aggressive Swedish system, favoured by the Royalists, of charging at the enemy and firing their pistols at the last second before smashing into the enemy and fighting in melee with swords to drive them off. It took time for Parliament to adjust to this new tactic, resulting in several stunning Royalist victories, but once they combined it with strong training and discipline it proved to be one of the keys to total victory.
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#gun #guns #flintlock #weapons #photoreenactment #reenactment #reenactors #reenacting #reenactorstyle #reenactorslife #reenactinglife #reenactorsofinstagram #reenactmentphotography #livinghistory #history #photohistory #historicalreenactment #historicalcostume #17thcentury #sealedknot #dailyphoto #photoaday #photooftheday #photoadaychallenge #historyhit #englishcivilwar #instadaily #englishheritage #nationaltrust
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Chris Sutton
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-0d-BuHCz3/?igshid=11hq5inkg6mif