Arthur Haselrig - Civil War

Civil War

Haselrig was very active in the First English Civil War on the Parliamentarian side. He raised a troop of horse for the Earl of Essex and fought at the Battle of Edgehill. He was a commander in the West under William Waller, being nicknamed his fidus Achates, and was led his cuirassiers, who were known as the London lobsters. He and his troops distinguished themselves at the at the Battle of Lansdowne on 5 July 1643 where his men defeated Sir Beville Grenville's Pikemen and then at the Battle of Roundway Down on 13 July. At both of these battles he was wounded. At the battle of Cheriton, his men defeated Sir Henry Bard's cavalry charge, seriously weakening Hopton's army in the west. This battle was a turning point in the war and the kings secretary Sir Edward Walker said that after Cheriton, instead of an offensive war they were forced to make a defensive war.