For the first few months of 1647, Oliver Cromwell was
concerned about what role he would play in the new government that
followed the English Civil War. King Charles I was held hostage
by Parliament, but Parliament itself had returned under the control
of a conservative Presbyterian faction which favored restoration
of the monarchy. From January to April, Cromwell did not sit in
the House of Commons at all, and even contemplated leaving England to
fight in the wars which continued to rage between Protestants and
Catholics in Germany.
The troops of the New Model Army were restless as well,
particularly because the soldiers had not been paid for some time.
A mutiny seemed imminent, and Parliament sent Cromwell to Essex in
May 1647 to bring the army back under Parliament's command. Although
it was Parliament's understanding that Cromwell would offer the
men only partial redress of their grievances, on May seventeen
Cromwell and his fellow officers sent Parliament a startling report
which said that they planned to stand united with the restless troops.
The message had immediate repercussions. Many in Parliament accused
Cromwell of secretly fomenting rebellion among the soldiers, and
wanted to see the Army disbanded entirely. On May twenty-five,
Parliament issued an order to Cromwell and his officers to gradually
disband the Army, but they refused to obey. Parliament was alarmed
and voted to grant the troops their full back payment for the services
they had rendered. The action came too late, however, as the Army,
under Cromwell and the other officers, gathered at Newmarket in
June and decided to occupy London.
On June fourteen the Army Council issued a declaration
calling for a purge of Parliament, especially of the conservative
Presbyterians who seemed too attached to the old system of monarchy.
The declaration also proclaimed that the troops were not mercenaries
at Parliament's disposal, but citizens of England wearing military
uniforms. The Army Council also accused eleven leading Presbyterians of
treason.
In the meanwhile, Cromwell had resumed his former position
as Lieutenant-General of the Army. The troops saw him as a natural leader,
but Cromwell made it clear that he was in favor of restoring military
order and discipline. He rejected the democratic ideology being
pushed by the radicals in the Army, who were known as the Levellers.
At this point in time, in fact, Cromwell thought of the monarchy
as a necessary part of social order and property rights, and worried
about his soldiers' demands for populist rule.
While negotiations were being conducted between Charles
I and the leaders of Parliament, the Army advanced closer to London.
By July seventeen the Army was just outside the city, and the eleven accused
Presbyterians resigned their seats. Conflict ensued when the deposed
Presbyterians called the London mob to their assistance, and groups
of armed Londoners invaded the House of Commons demanding the immediate
restoration of king Charles. Parliament called the city militia
to its defense. By August six, the New Model Army occupied London,
restored order, and put Parliament at its mercy. Cromwell and his
brother-in- law, Commissary-General Henry Ireton, resumed negotiations
with the King, thereby angering the Levellers, who did not want
to see a compromise settlement of any kind. Although the Levellers
threatened the unity of the Army, Cromwell was able to subdue them
with a fearsome speech at a meeting of the General Council of the
Army.
Events took a dramatic turn on November eleven, 1647,
when King Charles escaped from his captivity at Hampton Court in
London and fled to the Isle of Wight. In mid-December, the King rejected
a proposed settlement that had been drafted by Parliament, choosing
instead to sign an agreement with the Scots, who promised to invade
England with an army and fight on his behalf. The House of Commons
responded to this on January three, 1648, with a motion to suspend
any future negotiations with Charles. Cromwell heartily approved
of this motion. While endorsing the motion in a speech in front
of the House of Commons, Cromwell laid his hand on the hilt of
his sword in a thinly veiled threat to all dissenters.
The Scots invaded England in the summer of 1648, initiating
a short-lived "second civil war." Cromwell defeated the Scots at
the battle of Preston in August, and pursued the invading army
all the way back to Scotland for the next several weeks. During
Cromwell's absence from London, major steps were taken under Ireton's direction.
The Council of Army Officers called for the trial and execution
of King Charles, and in December the House of Commons was purged
entirely through a military coup d'état. When
Cromwell returned to London and heard the news, he approved, although
he had strong doubts about the propriety of executing the King.
Once the trial was agreed upon, however, Cromwell committed himself
to the proceedings energetically. In January 1649, the King was
brought before a court at Westminster Hall to answer the numerous
charges that had been laid against him. Charles refused to recognize
the court or to speak in his own defense, and was found guilty
by just sixty-eight of the 135 judges at his trial-a majority of a
single vote. Charles was beheaded on January thirty, 1649. It was reported
that Cromwell, while watching the King's execution, uttered the
memorable phrase, "cruel necessity."
