Background
After the Putney Debates, the Army commanders Oliver Cromwell and Fairfax were concerned about the strength of support which the Levellers had in the NMA. They decided to impose the Heads of Proposals as the army's manifesto, instead of the Levellers' Agreement of the People.
To accomplish this they demanded that every soldier sign a declaration of loyalty, both to Fairfax as commander-in-chief, and to the Army Council, which signified that they accepted the Heads of the Proposals as the Army's manifesto. Many of the men were willing to sign, even if they had Leveller sympathies, because Cromwell and Fairfax promised that Parliament would honour the back payments they were owed. It was suggested that if they did not sign then the army could not present a united front to Parliament and payment could be delayed and that some regiments might be disbanded with no back pay at all. The declaration was a politically astute move because the soldiers were now bound to the Army Council and not the King or Parliament.
Read more about this topic: Corkbush Field Mutiny
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