A General Much Maligned: The Earl of Manchester as Army Commander in the Second Newbury Campaign (July to November 1644)

Abstract

The disappointing performance of the Eastern Association army in the campaign fought in the Thames valley theatre of war in October and November 1644 compared with its previous history has been attributed to the shortcomings of its commander, Edward Montagu, Earl of Manchester. This paper shows that much of the criticism of Manchester's generalship was propaganda of dubious validity produced after the campaign by Oliver Cromwell and his political allies, and that a good case can be made for Manchester's strategic and operational competence.