Castle, slipped into the town, and brought a letter to the Lord
Goring, and listed in the regiment of the Lord Capel’s horse.
14th. The besiegers attacked and took the Hythe Church, with a
small work the besieged had there, but the defenders retired in
time; some were taken prisoners in the church, but not in the fort;
Sir Charles Lucas’s horse was attacked by a great body of the
besiegers; the besieged defended themselves with good resolution
for some time, but a hand-grenade thrown in by the assailants,
having fired the magazine, the house was blown up, and most of the
gallant defenders buried in the ruins. This was a great blow to
the Royalists, for it was a very strong pass, and always well
guarded.
15th. The Lord Fairfax sent offers of honourable conditions to the
soldiers of the garrison if they would surrender, or quit the
service; upon which the Lords Goring and Capel, and Sir Charles
Lucas, returned an answer signed by their hands, that it was not
honourable or agreeable to the usage of war to offer conditions
separately to the soldiers, exclusive of their officers, and
therefore civilly desired his lordship to send no more such
messages or proposals, or if he did, that he would not take it ill
if they hanged up the messenger.
This evening all the gentlemen volunteers, with all the horse of
the garrison, with Sir Charles Lucas, Sir George Lisle, and Sir
Bernard Gascoigne at the head of them, resolved to break through
the enemy, and forcing a pass to advance into Suffolk by Nayland
Bridge. To this purpose they passed the river near Middle Mill;
but their guides having misled them the enemy took the alarm; upon
which their guides, and some pioneers which they had with them to
open the hedges and level the banks, for their passing to Boxted,
all ran away, so the horse were obliged to retreat, the enemy
pretending to pursue, but thinking they had retreated by the north
bridge, they missed them; upon which being enraged, they fired the
suburbs without the bridge, and burned them quite down.
18th. Some of the horse attempted to escape the same way, and had
the whole body been there as before, they had effected it; but
there being but two troops, they were obliged to retire. Now the
town began to be greatly distressed, provisions failing, and the
townspeople, which were numerous, being very uneasy, and no way of
breaking through being found practicable, the gentlemen would have
joined in any attempt wherein they might die gallantly with their
swords in their hands, but nothing presented; they often sallied
and cut off many of the enemy, but their numbers were continually
supplied, and the besieged diminished; their horse also sunk and
became unfit for service, having very little hay, and no corn, and
at length they were forced to kill them for food; so that they
began to be in a very miserable condition, and the soldiers
deserted every day in great numbers, not being able to bear the
want of food, as being almost starved with hunger.
22nd. The Lord Fairfax offered again an exchange of prisoners, but
the Lord Goring rejected it, because they refused conditions to the
chief gentlemen of the garrison.
During this time, two troops of the Royal Horse sallied out in the
night, resolving to break out or die: the first rode up full gallop
to the enemy’s horse guards on the side of Malden road, and
exchanged their pistols with the advanced troops, and wheeling made
as if they would retire to the town; but finding they were not
immediately pursued, they wheeled about to the right, and passing
another guard at a distance, without being perfectly discovered,
they went clean off, and passing towards Tiptree Heath, and having
good guides, they made their escape towards Cambridgeshire, in
which length of way they found means to disperse without being
attacked, and went every man his own way as fate directed; nor did
we hear that many of them were taken: they were led, as we are
informed, by Sir Bernard Gascoigne.
Upon these attempts of the horse to break out, the enemy built a