till Monday in the afternoon. The King's Army was lodged on Saturday
night, about Croprede and Edgecot, some 6 or 7 miles from _Keynton_; and
having, no doubt, got intelligence that part of our Army, and Artillery,
with a great part of our Ammunition was behinde us, they thought they
could not have a better opportunity to fight with our Army, especially if
they could get the advantage of the hill before us, it being a very high
and steep assent, which if they were put to the worst might serve them for
a Retreat, as it did, it being that which saved them, their Carriages, and
the Colours of their Regiments of Foot that ran away; for of those that
fought it out, we tooke most of them, excepting onely those two Regiments
that stood it out till night, and went off with their horse in an orderly
way. The enemy having resolved to give us Battell, and no whit doubting of
the Victory, they being more then we were, both in horse and foot (a
considerable Brigado of our Army being behinde) and having a great opinion
of the resolution of their Souldiers, wherein they were partly deceived,
and partly not, as it hapned also on our side; They returned back towards
_Edge Hill_, and made all possible speed to gain the hill before us (which
they did, by reason that his Excellency had not timely intelligence of
their designe, otherwise we were much neerer the hill, and might have been
possessed of it before them). And by that time our Army was drawn out of
the Town about a mile and half towards the hill, the Dragooners, and some
of the enemie's Foot were coming down the hill; Their horse having gotten
down most of them on their right hand, and placed themselves in a fair
Meadow, at the bottom of the hill; Their Cannon and Ammunition, with the
Rere of their foot, were something long ere they came down. And if we had
charged them before their Cannon and all their Foot were come down, we
might have had a great advantage: but they got all down into the Meadow at
the foot of the hill, and there drew up their Army very handsomely, their
horse being on their right Wing for the most part, and their Dragooners,
and some few Troops of horse on their left Wing; some of their prisoners
said they had four Regiments of horse on that wing also; but I could never
speak with any of our Army, that either saw any such number of horse, or
could tell what they did, unlesse they went directly to _Keynton_, to
plunder the Carriages without charging our Army at all.