Roundway Down may have one the most dramatic geographical features of any battleground, bar the cliffs at Pont du Hoc on the Normandy coast. The escarpment that falls away from the back of Roundway Hill is a sheer drop off and was the scene of a desperate retreat that ended with many cavalrymen going over the cliff.

After the stalemate at Lansdowne Hill a few days earlier, Waller wanted a decisive engagement with the Royalists that were working the area, so he set siege on Devizes in Wiltshire. Royalist Hopton, who had been injured in an accidental gunpowder explosion after the Lansdown Hill battle, knew he needed help, so he sent Prince Maurice on a end run to Oxford to get more forces to come to his aid. Those forces, under Lord Wilmot and Sir John Byron, approached from Oxford and Waller met them on the sweeping expanse of Roundway Down with a numerically superior force. Waller had what he wanted.
The battle opened with a cavalry charge by Sir Arthur Haselrige's cuirassiers or "lobster" cavalry that was beaten back on the Parliamentary right flank after two tries. Haselrige was lucky to have his beating early when several escape routes were still available to him and he took one from the field. The other flank was just as decisively engaged with charges and counter-charges swirling around the flanks of Waller's lines. Waller's infantry could only watch as their cavalry flanks were decimated by determined Royalist charges. Finally, to the horror of everyone watching, Parliamentary forces were cornered and fled over the cliff to their deaths in "Bloody Ditch," the steep escarpment off the back of Roundway Hill. Some Royalists were in such hot pursuit that they followed the Roundhead cavalry over. After such a fight, Waller's infantry was left stunned and almost defenceless to the Royalist cavalry and a large detachment from Devizes that had marched to the sound of the guns, but arrived late.
What had begun as an overwhelmingly favourable position for Waller, ended up with one the most decisive Royalist victories of the war. Roundway Down would affect Waller for years to come and made him overly cautious in future battles, especially those with his old friend, Hopton.

Recommended Ride

23.5 miles, depending on the options chosen. Take the A361 Northeast out of Devizes to Beckhampton, where you turn left onto the A4 and go to Calne. Take a left onto the A3102 to Chittoe. Near Chittoe, take a left on the A342 and go to Rowde. Just after Rowde take the lane to Roundway. At Roundway, take the farm lane north to a "Y" and take the left fork. This fork will give away to a very good, solid gravel road where you can view the whole of the battlefield on the down. You can also park up and walk about 500 yards to Oliver's castle and look over the edge into "Bloody Ditch." If you have the time, try the A360 from Devizes to Salisbury across the Salisbury Plain (additional 27 miles).

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Use Ordnance Survey Landranger 173. The battlefield is centred on SU 021655. If using a road map, the battlefield is located north of Devizes, Wiltshire.

Recommended Book and Map

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The Battle of Chalgrove is famous mainly because one of Parliament's main political figures, Colonel John Hampden, was wounded in the action and died days later. Hampden was one of the "Five Members" that the King had tried to arrest in Parliament, setting off the war.
The action itself was little more than a skirmish, but brings out the differences between the two armies at this stage of the war. Royalist cavalry commander Prince Rupert was establishing his reputation as a leader of great daring. Rupert was also using newer cavalry tactics that relied on the shock of rapid and decisive action with horse, whereas the Parliamentarians were still relying on firepower and tighter formations with their horse.
Rupert had surprised several Parliamentary encampments in the area around Chalgrove overnight and in the early morning. As part of this action, the main body of Parliamentarians had been alerted to Rupert's presence in the area due to his flaming of the village of Chinnor. The Parliamentarians set to finding Rupert and cutting him off from the safety of Oxford. Rupert, realising that he was being trailed, sent his infantry to secure the bridge at Chislehampton and place his dragoons along the escape route, then turned to face the music with his cavalry. As the Roundheads aligned for battle, Rupert feigned a retreat which enticed the Parliamentarians into a chase. However, Rupert spun his forces around and leapt a hedge to take to the attack. The Parliamentary cavalry got off quite a few shots and Rupert's forces took a significant number of casualties. However, in the melee, Hampden was mortally wounded and the shock of the action drove the the Roundheads from the field.

The Hampden monument in the foreground with the battlefield to the left rear (through the hedge)

Rupert's actions were characteristic of him and this time of the war for the Royalists. The Royalists had fought in skirmishes and at least one set piece battle at this point in the war and were coming off as the better force in several of the engagements. Rupert's cavalry were showing themselves to be of continental calibre in cavalry actions and this confidence was leading Rupert to push for an early and final assault on London to end the war. The young man did not get his wish, but maybe he should have.

Motorcycle Ride Recommendation

This map runs to the actual battlefield and then takes a run at some of the better roads in the area. Fox's Diner, near the Berinsfield Roundabout on the A4074, is the local biker hang out. Ordnance Survey Landranger 164 is a good map of the area.

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On 29 December 1890, a group of Sioux, led by Bigfoot, arrived at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation after hearing of Sitting Bull's death on 15 December. The resurgance of Indian spirituality in the form of the "Ghost Dance" was worrying the U.S. government agents in the area who feared violence. The attempt to disarm the Sioux descended into chaos that left nearly 200 Sioux, including many women and children, and 25 Cavalrymen dead. One can find many interpretations of the battle of Wounded Knee...many not calling it a battle, but a massacre. Wounded Knee marked the end of the Indian Wars of west, in much the same way as it started... duplicitousness, misunderstanding, confusion, chaos and death to many innocents and warriors on both sides.
Read a few different versions and decide for yourself;
"Massacre At Wounded Knee, 1890," EyeWitness to History, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com (1998).
Wikipedia
Bowling Green State University
Public Broadcasting Service

Books from Amazon.com

Motorcycle Ride

Try South Dakota State Route 44 southeast out of Rapid city to Scenic. From Scenic, go south along bombing Range Road, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) 27, Indian Service Road (ISR) 27, ISR-33 and finally Big Foot Trail to Wounded Knee. See map, here.

Maps

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When you think of amphibious landings and fighting in the Pacific, one tends to think of the United States Marine Corps, but on 15 December 1943, the 112th Cavalry Regiment of the Texas Army National Guard successfully landed on the island of New Britain (New Pomerania) against hostile Japanese forces in order to secure a forward operating base for PT boats. The 112th Cavalry later served in Leyte and Luzon, in the Phillipines.

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Great post on what Blitzkrieg was and wasn't over at Investigations of a Dog.

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Prince Rupert was one of the King's leading Commanders of the English Civil War. He was trained in the continental wars preceding the 1640s and deployed the most recent theory in cavalry actions. Rupert believed that cavalry was more effective with shock, speed and driving the opposing forces from the field. The Parliamentarians started the war relying more on the traditional tactics of deeper formations and firepower.

Early in the war, Rupert struck several shocking and decisive blows against Parliamentary targets, cavalry and otherwise. Rupert was the leading proponent of striking a decisive blow against London early on to spook the populace and cower the still disorganised Parliamentary forces.

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