Other 17th-century conflicts
Printed and manuscript maps, prints and views of 22 seventeenth-century wars
Order of battle at Naseby, 1645
THE DESCRIPTION OF THE ARMIES OF HORSE AND FOOT OF HIS MAJESTIES, AND / S.r Thomas Fairefax his Excellency, as they were drawn in to severall bodyes, at the Battayle at NASBYE; / the Fowerteenth day of...
c.1647Etching; printed from two copperplates on two sheets of paper, joined; laid down on five pieces of paper | 50.9 x 77.1 cm (image and sheet) | RCIN 723056
A high oblique view of the order of battle of the opposing armies at the Battle of Naseby, fought on 14 June 1645 between the Parliamentarian New Model army, commanded by Sir Thomas Fairfax (17 January 1612-12 November 1671) and Oliver Cromwell 25 April 1599-3 September 1658) and the Royalist army, commanded by Charles I (19 November 1600-30 January 1649) and Prince Rupert of the Rhine (17 December 1619-29 November 1682), resulting in a decisive victory for the Parliamentarian army. First English Civil War (1642-1646). Oriented with north-west to top (cardinal points).
This view appears to show that the Royalists had more troops than the Parliamentarians: 59 Royalist squadrons and regiments against 50 on the Parliamentarian side. In fact, the Royalists were 9,000 strong and were outnumbered by the 13,500 strong Parliamentarian army, shown here in the foreground. The print shows the point where the Royalist army had just begun to advance, and the dragoons, sent by Cromwell behind the hedges to the left of the view, were opening fire on Prince Rupert’s cavalry. The Royalist army of Charles I was destroyed in this battle.
Top right of the view is an oval portrait of Thomas Fairfax framed by two quills.
Published in Joshua Sprigge, Anglia Rediviva; Englands Recovery: Being The History Of the Motions, Actions, and Successes of the Army under the Immediate Conduct of His Excellency Sr. Thomas Fairfax, Kt. Captain-General Of all the Parliaments Forces In England. Compiled for the Publique good By Ioshua Sprigge, M.A. London, Printed by R.W. for John Partridge, (1647). Sprigge (1618-1684) was chaplain to Thomas Fairfax.
See also RCIN 750070.
Robert Streeter (1624-80) (etcher) [bottom left, right of compass rose:] Streeter fecit
John Partridge (active 1625-49) (publisher) [bottom left, below the name ‘NASEBYE’:] Printed for John Partridge
Watermark: Indistinct: letters in a cartouche
Condition: three fold lines; creased; surface dirt; torn; crudely repaired by being laid down on five pieces of paper with manuscript repairs to the detail on the recto; pin holes in each corner, suggesting that the print has been pinned to a wall or screen. Verso: part of a red-inked circle, perhaps made by the stamping tool for George III’s cipher labels
50.9 x 77.1 cm (image and sheet)
cropped (platemark)
Printed title:
THE DESCRIPTION OF THE ARMIES OF HORSE AND FOOT OF HIS MAJESTIES, AND / S.r Thomas Fairefax his Excellency, as they were drawn in to severall bodyes, at the Battayle at NASBYE; / the Fowerteenth day of June 1645 [top centre, in a scroll]
Printed title:
fare / fac [top right]
Additional text:
[bottom right:] place this mapp betweene foll 32 33
Annotations:
George III heading: Battle of Naseby 14 June 1645.
Other annotations: (Recto) none. (Verso) [left, in a nineteenth-century hand?:] Battle of Naseby / 1645 [the ‘6’ has been overwritten on a ‘7’]; [bottom, right of centre, in an early twentieth-century hand?:] another under Eng. Hist. Pf.
George III catalogue entry:
Naseby The Description of the Armies of Horse and Foot of His Majesties and S.r Thomas Fairefax his Excellency as they were drawn in to severall bodyes at the Battayle at Nasbye the 14.th day of June 1645: by Streeter, printed for Partridge. 2 sheets.
Subject(s)
Naseby, Northamptonshire, England, UK (52°23ʹ39ʺN 00°59ʹ21ʺW)
Page revisions
14 March 2024
Current version
