Battle of Marshall's Elm 1642
Marker: recorded battle location (no official boundary).
Key facts
| Date (year) | 1642 | Wikidata P585 point in time |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 17th century | derived |
| Period | Civil Wars | derived |
| Country | England | derived |
About the battle
The battle of Marshall's Elm was a skirmish that took place near Street, in the county of Somerset, South West England, on 4 August 1642. The engagement occurred during the build-up to formal beginning of the First English Civil War on 22 August, while the Royalists and Parliamentarians were recruiting men in the county. The Royalists had established their regional headquarters in Wells, but were threatened by superior Parliamentarian numbers in the vicinity. The Royalist commander sent out a mounted patrol consisting of 60 to 80 cavalry and dragoons, which came across a force of between 500 and 600 Parliamentarian recruits travelling north across the Somerset Levels under the command of Sir John Pyne.
The Royalists set an ambush at Marshall's Elm, where the road rose out of the Levels into the Polden Hills. After a parley between the leaders was unsuccessful, the Parliamentarians were caught in the ambush. Facing musket fire from the hidden dragoons, and being charged at by the Royalist cavalry, they were routed. The Royalists killed around 27, and took 60 prisoners, including two of the Parliamentarian officers.
Visiting the battlefield
Location
- Recorded location (Wikidata; may be approximate): 51.1069, -2.7375
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Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Marshall's Elm (revision 1374911052), 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).
Nearby battlefields
- Battle of Langport 1645 · 8 km
- Battle of Sedgemoor 1685 · 13 km
- Battle of Babylon Hill 1642 · 21 km
- Wincanton Skirmish 1688 · 24 km
- Battle of Cynwit 878 · 24 km
- Battle of Badon 500 · 40 km
Browse more: battles in England · Civil Wars · 17th century battles