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London lobsters

January 01, 1970

The London lobsters, Haselrig's Lobsters or just "Lobsters" were the name given to the cavalry unit raised and led by Sir Arthur Haselrig, a Parliamentarian who fought in the English Civil War. The unit derived its name from the regiment being one of very few units raised as cuirassiers, equipped in suits of plate armour reaching from the head to the knee. The regiment had a somewhat chequered career in combat, but was credited with being one of very few Parliamentarian cavalry units able to stand up to the mounted charge of the Cavaliers in the early years of the war.

Background edit

 
Sir Arthur Haselrig in his cuirassier armour.

Haselrig was a prominent leader of Parliament's opposition to King Charles, and when the quarrel broke into open warfare he formed this unit, outfitting it with his own money. The unit received its name because, unusually for the time, they were cuirassiers, wearing extensive armour that covered most of their body (except for the lower legs) making them appear somewhat like lobsters. Only two cuirassier regiments were raised during the English Civil War, the other being the Lifeguard of the Earl of Essex, however, individual cavalrymen within other regiments also served in complete armour.[1] Full armour had largely been abandoned at this time, with cuirasses and helmets only worn by some cavalry (harquebusiers), commanders and pike units. The armour of a cuirassier was very expensive; in England, in 1629, a cuirassier's equipment cost four pounds and 10 shillings, whilst a harquebusier's (a lighter type of cavalry) was a mere one pound and six shillings.[2]

War service edit

 
Armour of a 17th-century cuirassier, such as was worn by the Lobsters. The all-enclosing close helm (in this case in the "Savoyard" style) could have been replaced by a more open form, such as the lobster tailed pot.

The "lobsters" were probably the last unit to fight on English soil wearing full armour, and one of the last in Europe. They were credited with being "the first that made any impression upon the King's horse [the Royalist cavalry], who being unarmed [unarmoured], were not able to bear the shock with them; besides they were secure from hurts of the sword..."[3][4]

Haselrig's regiment formed the heavy cavalry in the army of Sir William Waller.

Ripple Field edit

During the Battle of Ripple Field, Prince Maurice's cavalry outflanked Parliament's troops, to the west of the hill. In an attempt to try and halt the now dangerous Royalist advance Sir Arthur Hesilrig charged with his curraisers, however, was swiftly forced back. The rest of Waller's forces routed.

On following the retreat of Wallace's forces, they suffered 70% casualties covering the Parliamentarian retreat.[5]

Lansdowne edit

The "lobsters" then distinguished themselves at Lansdown on 5 July, as part of successful action of the general parliamentarian cavalry.[6]

Roundway Down edit

At the Battle of Roundway Down, on 13 July, they met a Royalist cavalry charge at the halt, using the 'Dutch' tactic of receiving a charge by firing while stationary.[7] After a brief clash they retreated in disorder, the Parliamentarian army losing the battle. Though they were defeated, the armour they wore apparently served them well; Haselrig was shot three times at Roundway Down, with the bullets bouncing off his armour. After firing a pistol at Haselrig's helmeted head at close range, without any effect, Richard Atkyns described how he attacked him with his sword, but it too caused no visible damage. Haselrig was under attack from a number of people and only succumbed when Atkyns attacked his unarmoured horse. After the death of his horse Haselrig tried to surrender; but as he fumbled with his sword, which was tied to his wrist, he was rescued. He suffered only minor wounds from his ordeal.[8]

This incident was related to Charles I and elicited one of his rare attempts at humour. The King said that if Haselrig had been as well supplied as he was fortified he could have withstood a siege.

The Battle of Cheriton edit

At the Battle of Cheriton on 29 March 1644 the unit attacked a royalist regiment of infantry under Sir Henry Bard. Bard's unit had advanced towards the Parliamentary cavalry, but had moved too fast and were no longer in formation with the rest of the Royalist infantry. The Lobsters saw this and Haselrig led 300 of them against Bard's regiment. The royalist regiment was completely destroyed, with all the infantry either killed or taken prisoner. Parliament eventually won the battle.[9]

Standard edit

The standard, or flag, carried by the regiment is described as an anchor descending from the clouds on a green field, with the motto 'Only in Heaven'.[10]

Legacy edit

Haselrig's regiment was the lineal predecessor of the Royal Horse Guards, today one of the household regiments of the British monarchy.

"Sir William Waller having received from London [in June 1643] a fresh regiment of five hundred horse, under the command of sir Arthur Haslerigge, which were so prodigiously armed that they were called by the other side the regiment of lobsters, because of their bright iron shells with which they were covered, being perfect curasseers."[11]

Notes edit

  1. ^ Haythornthwaite, p. 46.
  2. ^ Haythornthwaite, pp. 45 and 49.
  3. ^ Clarendon, "History of the Rebellion," 1647, vol. 4, p. 111
  4. ^ Haythornthwaite, p. 28.
  5. ^ Willis-Bund, pp. 82–83
  6. ^ Battle of Lansdown bcw-project http://bcw-project.org/military/english-civil-war/west-country/battle-of-lansdown
  7. ^ Haythornthwaite, p. 51
  8. ^ Haythornthwaite, p. 49.
  9. ^ (PDF). English Heritage. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 September 2012.
  10. ^ Haythornthwaite, p. 144.
  11. ^ Clarendon, "History of the Rebellion," vol. 4, p. 120

References edit

  • Denton, Barry, Only in Heaven: The Life and Campaigns of Sir Arthur Hesilrige, 1601-1661, Bloomsbury, 1997. ISBN 978-1850756453.
  • Haythornthwaite, Philip (1983) The English Civil War, An Illustrated History Blandford Press. ISBN 1-85409-323-1.
  • Clarendon, Edward Earl of, The history of the rebellion and civil wars in England, 1647 (reprinted 1839).
  • Willis-Bund, John William (1905). The Civil War in Worcestershire, 1642-1646: And the Scotch Invasion of 1651. Birmingham: The Midland Education Company.

External links edit

January 01, 1970
london, lobsters, haselrig, lobsters, just, lobsters, were, name, given, cavalry, unit, raised, arthur, haselrig, parliamentarian, fought, english, civil, unit, derived, name, from, regiment, being, very, units, raised, cuirassiers, equipped, suits, plate, arm. The London lobsters Haselrig s Lobsters or just Lobsters were the name given to the cavalry unit raised and led by Sir Arthur Haselrig a Parliamentarian who fought in the English Civil War The unit derived its name from the regiment being one of very few units raised as cuirassiers equipped in suits of plate armour reaching from the head to the knee The regiment had a somewhat chequered career in combat but was credited with being one of very few Parliamentarian cavalry units able to stand up to the mounted charge of the Cavaliers in the early years of the war Contents 1 Background 2 War service 2 1 Ripple Field 2 2 Lansdowne 2 3 Roundway Down 2 4 The Battle of Cheriton 3 Standard 4 Legacy 5 Notes 6 References 7 External linksBackground edit nbsp Sir Arthur Haselrig in his cuirassier armour Haselrig was a prominent leader of Parliament s opposition to King Charles and when the quarrel broke into open warfare he formed this unit outfitting it with his own money The unit received its name because unusually for the time they were cuirassiers wearing extensive armour that covered most of their body except for the lower legs making them appear somewhat like lobsters Only two cuirassier regiments were raised during the English Civil War the other being the Lifeguard of the Earl of Essex however individual cavalrymen within other regiments also served in complete armour 1 Full armour had largely been abandoned at this time with cuirasses and helmets only worn by some cavalry harquebusiers commanders and pike units The armour of a cuirassier was very expensive in England in 1629 a cuirassier s equipment cost four pounds and 10 shillings whilst a harquebusier s a lighter type of cavalry was a mere one pound and six shillings 2 War service edit nbsp Armour of a 17th century cuirassier such as was worn by the Lobsters The all enclosing close helm in this case in the Savoyard style could have been replaced by a more open form such as the lobster tailed pot The lobsters were probably the last unit to fight on English soil wearing full armour and one of the last in Europe They were credited with being the first that made any impression upon the King s horse the Royalist cavalry who being unarmed unarmoured were not able to bear the shock with them besides they were secure from hurts of the sword 3 4 Haselrig s regiment formed the heavy cavalry in the army of Sir William Waller Ripple Field edit During the Battle of Ripple Field Prince Maurice s cavalry outflanked Parliament s troops to the west of the hill In an attempt to try and halt the now dangerous Royalist advance Sir Arthur Hesilrig charged with his curraisers however was swiftly forced back The rest of Waller s forces routed On following the retreat of Wallace s forces they suffered 70 casualties covering the Parliamentarian retreat 5 Lansdowne edit The lobsters then distinguished themselves at Lansdown on 5 July as part of successful action of the general parliamentarian cavalry 6 Roundway Down edit At the Battle of Roundway Down on 13 July they met a Royalist cavalry charge at the halt using the Dutch tactic of receiving a charge by firing while stationary 7 After a brief clash they retreated in disorder the Parliamentarian army losing the battle Though they were defeated the armour they wore apparently served them well Haselrig was shot three times at Roundway Down with the bullets bouncing off his armour After firing a pistol at Haselrig s helmeted head at close range without any effect Richard Atkyns described how he attacked him with his sword but it too caused no visible damage Haselrig was under attack from a number of people and only succumbed when Atkyns attacked his unarmoured horse After the death of his horse Haselrig tried to surrender but as he fumbled with his sword which was tied to his wrist he was rescued He suffered only minor wounds from his ordeal 8 This incident was related to Charles I and elicited one of his rare attempts at humour The King said that if Haselrig had been as well supplied as he was fortified he could have withstood a siege The Battle of Cheriton edit At the Battle of Cheriton on 29 March 1644 the unit attacked a royalist regiment of infantry under Sir Henry Bard Bard s unit had advanced towards the Parliamentary cavalry but had moved too fast and were no longer in formation with the rest of the Royalist infantry The Lobsters saw this and Haselrig led 300 of them against Bard s regiment The royalist regiment was completely destroyed with all the infantry either killed or taken prisoner Parliament eventually won the battle 9 Standard editThe standard or flag carried by the regiment is described as an anchor descending from the clouds on a green field with the motto Only in Heaven 10 Legacy editHaselrig s regiment was the lineal predecessor of the Royal Horse Guards today one of the household regiments of the British monarchy Sir William Waller having received from London in June 1643 a fresh regiment of five hundred horse under the command of sir Arthur Haslerigge which were so prodigiously armed that they were called by the other side the regiment of lobsters because of their bright iron shells with which they were covered being perfect curasseers 11 Notes edit Haythornthwaite p 46 Haythornthwaite pp 45 and 49 Clarendon History of the Rebellion 1647 vol 4 p 111 Haythornthwaite p 28 Willis Bund pp 82 83 Battle of Lansdown bcw project http bcw project org military english civil war west country battle of lansdown Haythornthwaite p 51 Haythornthwaite p 49 Cheriton 1644 PDF English Heritage p 8 Archived from the original PDF on 5 September 2012 Haythornthwaite p 144 Clarendon History of the Rebellion vol 4 p 120References editDenton Barry Only in Heaven The Life and Campaigns of Sir Arthur Hesilrige 1601 1661 Bloomsbury 1997 ISBN 978 1850756453 Haythornthwaite Philip 1983 The English Civil War An Illustrated History Blandford Press ISBN 1 85409 323 1 Clarendon Edward Earl of The history of the rebellion and civil wars in England 1647 reprinted 1839 Willis Bund John William 1905 The Civil War in Worcestershire 1642 1646 And the Scotch Invasion of 1651 Birmingham The Midland Education Company External links editArthur Haselrig An account of the battle 1 Archived 9 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine http www english heritage org uk upload pdf Lansdown pdf Archived 9 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title London lobsters amp oldid 1196403935, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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