Battle of Higham, 24 March 1643

Parliamentary victory during First Civil War. A Royalist army, roughly 2,000 strong, newly raised by Lord Herbert in south Wales was threatening the Parliamentary garrison of Gloucester. William Waller, the Parliamentary commander in the west, crossed the River Severn on a bridge of boats just downstream of Gloucester, and after a march through the Forest of Dean, surprised Herberts' force early on the morning of 24 March. Lord Herbert himself was not with his force, and had no experienced commanders to leave in charge. The Royalist scouting was so poor that they did not even know that Waller had crossed the river, and when the garrison of Gloucester launched a sally, the Royalist cavalry fled. Abandoned, the Welsh infantry surrendered without a fight. Waller thus quickly solved many of his supply problems, gaining a new supply of arms and powder, as well as Herbert's artillery.

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See Also
Books on the English Civil War
Subject Index: English Civil War

How to cite this article: Rickard, J. (20 March 2001), Battle of Higham, 24 March 1643, http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_higham.html

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