Hunter's Rage: Book 3 of The Civil War Chronicles (63 page)

She lowered the blade at the last remark, smiled at his sigh of relief. ‘It is guarded well?’

‘Very well, madam.’

She thought for a moment, sheathed the blade, made to turn. ‘You will show me this house, sir.’

‘You’ll never get her out, madam,’ the man warned. ‘You’d need an army at your back, an’ that’s no word of a lie.’

Lisette Gaillard, Queen Henrietta Maria’s most trusted agent, looked at him then, flashing a broad, gleaming grin. ‘I have one, monsieur. And he is on his way.’

The man looked nonplussed. ‘He?’

‘
Oui
. A man named Stryker.’

Acknowledgements

First and foremost, thanks to my editor Kate Parkin, whose expertise has, as ever, been crucial. Much appreciation must also go to the whole team at John Murray and Hodder, including Caro Westmore, Lyndsey Ng, James Spackman, Ben Gutcher, and Hilary Hammond, to name but a few.

Huge thanks to my agent, Rupert Heath, who has, once again, been a priceless source of advice and guidance.

Many thanks to Richard Foreman and everyone at Chalke, and to Martin Abbott of the Sealed Knot, whose knowledge of the Battle of Stratton was absolutely invaluable. And thanks, yet again, to Malcolm Watkins of Heritage Matters, for casting an expert and insightful eye over the manuscript. Ultimately, though, all mistakes remain my own.

Thanks to my son, Joshua, for doing his bit for sales (shouting excitedly whenever he spots one of my books in a shop window). And last but not least, love and thanks to my parents, John and Gerry, and to my wife Rebecca, for their constant support and encouragement. The novels really wouldn’t happen without you.

Historical Note

When the truce in the south-west (in place since
28
February
1643
) expired on
22
April, war was resumed in earnest. After victories for both sides (at Launceston for the Royalists and Sourton Down for the Parliamentarians) the factions gathered at Stratton for the decisive encounter of this phase of the war.

As I have noted in the book, the rout at Sourton Down cost Sir Ralph Hopton more than weapons, stores, and gunpowder. In the confusion the rebels also captured the Royalist general’s portmanteau, containing letters from King Charles ordering the Cornish army to join forces with the Marquis of Hertford and Prince Maurice in Somerset. This crucial piece of intelligence compelled the Parliamentarian commander, the Earl of Stamford, to take the initiative.

Acutely aware of the need to prevent the two enemy armies combining, Stamford mustered all available forces at Torrington, Devon, with the view to destroying Hopton while he was still weak. With a force of
1,400
horse and
5,400
foot, he crossed the Cornish border.

The Battle of Stratton unfolded much as I have described. On
15
May, Stamford sent the bulk of his cavalry under Sir George Chudleigh (father of Major-General James Chudleigh) on a raid on Bodmin in order to prevent Sherriff Grylls raising the posse comitatus in support of the king’s men. The rest of his force advanced to Stratton and took up a strong defensive position on a hill to the north of the town.

Stamford’s opponent, Sir Ralph Hopton, marched immediately to meet the threat, but could muster only
2,400
foot and
500
horse. But despite the disparity in numbers, the Royalist general was determined to attack Stamford’s encampment while most of the Parliamentarian cavalry was absent.

When Hopton approached early on the morning of
16
May, he divided his infantry into four columns of about
600
men each to attack the hill from different directions in a great arc. Hopton and Lord Mohun led one column from the south, Major-General Basset attacked from the north, while Sir Bevil Grenville and Sir Nicholas Slanning led the two remaining columns from the west.

Beginning the assault at dawn, the Cornish infantry fought their way doggedly up the steep slopes under determined enemy fire from the surrounding hedges. The skirmishing was bitter and drawn out, with neither side gaining any real advantage, and by mid afternoon the Royalists were down to their last four barrels of powder. After an impromptu council of war, Hopton ordered that (keeping the dire situation from the men) the Royalists would make a last, synchronized assault, with orders not to fire until they reached the summit.

That remarkable ‘silent march’ has become part of Cornish folklore, but it might still be argued that, had the Parliamentarians simply held their position, the victory would surely have been theirs. The day’s pivotal moment was, in fact, the counterattack led by Major-General James Chudleigh. Whether he was disconcerted by the Royalists’ refusal to fire, or simply sought personal glory, it is difficult to say, but his headlong charge against Sir Bevil Grenville’s column committed a large portion of the rebel army’s best troops. As described in
Hunter’s Rage
, Grenville himself was hurt, but Sir John Berkeley rallied the Royalists and made a desperate counter-charge that turned the tide of the battle. Witnessing the disintegration of Chudleigh’s force – not to mention the capture of the major-general – must have been a truly inspirational sight for the three remaining Royalist columns, and they surged onwards with one last push.

Such a sight, of course, would have had the opposite effect on the hearts and minds of the Parliamentarian reserve as they peered down from the hill’s summit. And when, towards the end of the afternoon, all four Royalist columns converged on the crest, the Roundhead ranks finally capitulated.

Despite traditional accounts of the battle, I have taken the view that the Earl of Stamford arrived late on to the field that day. It is said he kept his cavalry – those not engaged at Bodmin – in reserve at the top of the hill, but my contention is that it was not possible for more than a hundred horsemen to gather on the summit alongside five thousand pikemen and musketeers and not become embroiled in the fighting. The area is simply too small. Moreover, it was the cavalry – seemingly intact after the fight – that escorted Stamford to the safety of Bideford. My contention is that Stamford was not there until the latter stages of the battle – certainly too late to affect its outcome – and effectively turned his cavalrymen around when he saw the day was lost.

But present or not, one thing is certain; the Earl of Stamford’s grand army was destroyed. Three hundred Parliamentarians lay dead on the slopes of what is now known as Stamford Hill, while
1,700
prisoners were taken. The Royalists captured all thirteen Parliamentarian cannon and a large quantity of powder and ammunition. Most crucially, Hopton’s victory secured Cornwall for the king.

The Cornish army was famous for its reckless bravery, its savagery in battle, and its sheer bloody-mindedness. But above all else, it was – and is – best known for the charismatic men who marched at its head. Chief of these was the Somerset MP, Sir Ralph Hopton, later Lord Stratton, but the Cornish, perhaps more than any other regional army, were fiercely loyal to their own ‘home-grown’ commanders. It is fair to say that Hopton’s achievements might never have come to pass were it not for the support of local leaders such as Godolphin, Slanning, and Trevanion. But of those well-known Cornishmen, perhaps the most famous remains Sir Bevil Grenville.

Grandson of the Elizabethan hero Sir Richard Grenville, captain of the
Revenge
, Bevil Grenville inherited large estates in Cornwall and became an ardent Royalist, serving in the king’s bodyguard during the Bishop’s Wars of the late
1630
s. At the outbreak of civil war he raised an army of infantrymen, which, under his leadership, became one of the most effective fighting units in the early campaigns of the English Civil War. Grenville, in turn, achieved something of a talismanic status amongst his men. Indeed, without Grenville’s personal endorsement of Sir Ralph Hopton, the general might never have enjoyed the loyalty of his Cornish troops.

At the Battle of Stratton, Grenville’s brigade, as I describe in the book, probably made the most rapid advance. To a modern reader it may seem as though my depiction of Grenville fighting on foot, becoming entangled in a press of pike, and then marching on despite his injuries, might be a little far-fetched. But Grenville had ‘previous’. At the Battle of Braddock Down in January
1643
he had been at the head of his men in an uphill charge that won the day for the Royalists. Moreover, at the rout at Sourton Down it was Grenville’s last stand that saved Hopton’s army from complete annihilation.

But all would not go well for the dashing Cavalier. In the summer of
1643
the Cornish army joined forces with a detachment from Oxford and marched eastwards against Sir William Waller. At the Battle of Lansdown, near Bath, the Royalist cavalry was routed, but, true to form, Grenville led a counterattack against the Parliamentarian position at the top of the hill. The manoeuvre was again successful, forcing Waller to withdraw, but Grenville was wounded by a halberd blow to the skull. He died the following day.

At his side to the end was another man whose life – and physique – seem stranger than fiction. Anthony Payne, the Cornish Giant, was a real figure. Born in the manor house on the Grenville estate, now known as the Tree Inn, he was taken into the Grenville household and excelled in both academic subjects and at sports. By the time he was twenty-one it is said that he was
7
feet,
2
inches tall, and later grew a further two inches. But games and academia were to fall by the wayside for Payne, who, by the time war was declared, had become Sir Bevil’s bodyguard. He was a key figure in recruiting, organizing, and leading Grenville’s force, and must have been a truly formidable sight on the field of battle.

He was, as described in
Hunter’s Rage
, in the thick of the fight at Stratton, and it does not take a great deal of imagination to picture his imposing figure cutting a swathe through the enemy ranks. But it seems proper to note that he stayed behind long after the battle to help bury the dead. Moreover, the fearsome warrior even showed great compassion for one badly wounded Parliamentarian, taking him home to be nursed back to health.

I am reluctant to say more of Payne’s contribution to the war, for Stryker may meet him again in due course, but his story is certainly a remarkable one, and I am pleased to say that he survived to see the Restoration of the Monarchy. Upon Charles II’s return from exile, John Grenville, Sir Bevil’s son, received great reward for his steadfast support, including money, the Earldom of Bath, and several other lofty positions. He duly appointed Anthony Payne as Halberdier of the Guns at Plymouth.

Upon retirement, Payne returned to his old home at Stratton, affording himself time to rest and to enjoy his ‘daily allowance’ of a gallon of wine! When he died in
1681
, his coffin was so large that it had to be taken out of a hole cut into the ceiling and lowered to the ground!

Though the Cornish Giant most certainly existed, the same cannot be said of some of the book’s other figures. Colonel Wild is pure invention. So too are Cecily Cade, Erasmus Collings and, I’m sad to say, Seek Wisdom and Fear the Lord Gardner.

Osmyn Hogg and José Ventura are also figments of my imagination, but witch-hunters most certainly existed across Europe and the colonies of New England at this time. The most famous, of course, is Matthew Hopkins, the self-styled witch-finder general, who plied his dark trade across Essex in the latter part of the
1640
s. He employed many of the tactics used by Hogg, including walking, swimming, and pricking the accused, and was ultimately responsible for the deaths of more than a hundred people. Perhaps Stryker and he will meet as the Civil War Chronicles progress.

As for the locations in
Hunter’s Rage
, the only fictional setting is Gardner’s Tor. But anyone wishing to ‘see’ where Stryker made his stand would do well to visit Hound Tor, to the east of Dartmoor. It is a truly atmospheric place – indeed, it is said to be the inspiration for Conan Doyle’s
The Hound of the Baskervilles
– and I confess to using it as a model for Gardner’s Tor.

Captain Stryker will return.