1648 and All That : The Scottish Invasions of England, 1648 and 1651. Proceedings of the 2022 Helion and Company ?century of the Soldier' Conference

The resumption of conflict between 1648 and 1651 is frequently referred to as the Second and Third Civil Wars. The period marked not only a return to war, but to a bloodier, more violent conflict that had perhaps been seen before in the British Isles. Massacre, summary executions, wonton destruction and assault on the civilian population were commonplace.  In early 1648 a political faction called the ‘Engagers’ gained control of the Scottish Government and sent an army into England to support numerous pro-Royalist risings across the country. Poorly equipped and trained with low morale, the Scottish ‘Engager’ Army and its Royalist allies were no match for the New Model Army led by Cromwell. The two sides met at Preston in August 1648 and after an initial clash, the Scots finally surrendered at Warrington two days later.

Following the execution of Charles Ist in January 1649, the Scots supporting his son Charles IInd went to war against England, now a republic. A second invasion of England was launched, and the Scots found themselves corned at Worcester by English forces, once again led by Oliver Cromwell. The battle, the last major action of the British Civil Wars was fought on the 3rd September 1651, was described by Cromwell as ‘a crowning mercy’.

The venue for the 2022 conference was Worcester Cathedral. The obvious theme for the conference was the Scottish invasions of England in 1648 and 1651. Not only did Worcester witness the last major battle of the British Civil Wars, but the Cathedral was used as a temporary prison to hold the Scottish prisoners.

The papers in this book of proceedings include:
Ronald Hutton – Key Note Speaker and Foreword
Stuart Jennings – Colonel Francis Thornhagh and the Battle of Preston, 1648
Peter Gaunt – A Tale of Two Risings: Was the second civil war in England and Wales 
primarily pro-Royalist or anti-Parliamentarian?
Malcolm Wanklyn – The Control of Command in the British Wars 1642-1651  
Edward Furgol – Three armies into one? Scottish Engager military organization in 1648

Charles Singleton has spent the last 30 years engrossed in the age of pike and shot warfare and the British Civil Wars. He has taught and researched the period extensively, and regularly visits the sites linked to the events of the 17th century. Charles has also worked with local BBC Radio on programmes about the conflict. His first book, Uncharitable Mischief: Barbarity and Excess in the British Civil Wars, saw publication in 2013 - and his first book with Helion & Company, Famous by my Sword: The Army of Montrose and the Military Revolution, was published in 2014. He is also the author of To Kill a King, which is the ECW supplement for Warlord Games' pike and shot rules, and is the editor of the 2012 Oxford Companion to Military History (published by Oxford University Press). He lives with his wife Helen on the fringes of the Welsh Marches, along with two Jack Russells.