We now had received orders from the king to join him; but I representing to the prince the condition of my regiment, which was now 100 men, and that, being within twenty-five miles of my father’s house, I might soon recruit it, my father having got some men together already, I desired leave to lie at Shrewsbury for a month, to make up my men.  Accordingly, having obtained his leave, I marched to Wrexham, where in two days’ time I got twenty men, and so on to Shrewsbury.  I had not been here above ten days, but I received an express to come away with what recruits I had got together, Prince Rupert having positive orders to meet the king by a certain day.  I had not mounted 100 men, though I had listed above 200, when these orders came; but leaving my father to complete them for me, I marched with those I had and came to Oxford.

The king, after the rout of the Parliament forces in the west, was marched back, took Barnstaple, Plympton, Launceston, Tiverton, and several other places, and left Plymouth besieged by Sir Richard Grenvile, met with Sir William Waller at Shaftesbury, and again at Andover, and boxed him at both places, and marched for Newbury.  Here the king sent for Prince Rupert to meet him, who with 3000 horse made long marches to join him; but the Parliament having joined their three armies together, Manchester from the north, Waller and Essex (the men being clothed and armed) from the west, had attacked the king and obliged him to fight the day before the prince came up.

The king had so posted himself, as that he could not be obliged to fight but with advantage, the Parliament’s forces being superior in number, and therefore, when they attacked him, he galled them with his cannon, and declining to come to a general battle, stood upon the defensive, expecting Prince Rupert with the horse.

The Parliament’s forces had some advantage over our foot, and took the Earl of Cleveland prisoner.  But the king, whose foot were not above one to two, drew his men under the cannon of Donnington Castle, and having secured his artillery and baggage, made a retreat with his foot in very good order, having not lost in all the fight above 300 men, and the Parliament as many.  We lost five pieces of cannon and took two, having repulsed the Earl of Manchester’s men on the north side of the town, with considerable loss.

The king having lodged his train of artillery and baggage in Donnington Castle, marched the next day for Oxford.  There we joined him with 3000 horse and 2000 foot.  Encouraged with this reinforcement, the king appears upon the hills on the north-west of Newbury, and faces the Parliament army.  The Parliament having too many generals as well as soldiers, they could not agree whether they should fight or no.  This was no great token of the victory they boasted of, for they were now twice our number in the whole, and their foot three for one.  The king stood in battalia all day, and finding the Parliament forces had no stomach to engage him, he drew away his cannon and baggage out of Donnington Castle in view of their whole army, and marched away to Oxford.