Battle of Alton 1643
Marker: recorded battle location (no official boundary).
Key facts
| Date (year) | 1643 | Wikidata P585 point in time |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 17th century | derived |
| Period | Civil Wars | derived |
| Country | England | derived |
| War / conflict | English Civil War | Wikidata |
| Participants | Cavalier, Roundhead | Wikidata |
About the battle
The Battle of Alton (also known as the Storming of Alton), of the First English Civil War, took place on 13 December 1643 in the town of Alton, Hampshire, England. There, Parliamentary forces serving under Sir William Waller led a successful surprise attack on a winter garrison of Royalist infantry and cavalry serving under the Earl of Crawford. The Battle of Alton was the first decisive defeat of Sir Ralph Hopton, leader of Royalist forces in the south, and the event had a significant psychological effect on him as commander. More important to Hopton was the loss of men, however, as he was already short-handed in much-needed infantry. The successful Parliamentarians were able, after their victory, to attack and successfully besiege Arundel, a larger and more formidable Royalist outpost to the south-east of Alton.
At dawn on 13 December, as Waller's army approached Alton, Crawford fled with the cavalry to Winchester, leaving Colonel Richard Boles to defend Alton with only the infantry. Outnumbered and overpowered, Boles's men were soon forced to seek refuge in the Church of St Lawrence, where they made a desperate last stand. Boles was killed, along with most of his remaining men.
Visiting the battlefield
Location
- Recorded location (Wikidata; may be approximate): 51.1511, -0.9758
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Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Alton (revision 1370431811), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; condensed by selecting paragraphs and trimming at sentence boundaries; citations removed. No text added.
Battle location from Wikidata (CC0).