1. Introduction
  2. The Civil War
  3. Naseby Campaign
  4. The Approach
  5. Formal Phase
  6. The Retreat
  7. The Flight
  8. The Aftermath
  9. The Armies
  10. Furthur Reading

Commentators

Royalist

Sir Edward Walker (1612-1677)
Was Secretary at War to Charles from 1642 and to the Privy Council from 1644, and served Charles II in the same capacity in exile. He was critical of Prince Rupert both during the war and in his memoirs, Historical Discourses upon Several Occasions, written in about 1647, but not published until 1705. Walkers works influenced the history of the war as written by Edward Hyde.
Sir Edward Hyde (later Earl of Clarendon) (1609-1674)
Was an adviser to Charles I and in January 1645 he took part in the unsuccessful peace negotiations at Uxbridge. In March he accompanied the Prince of Wales (later Charles II) into the West Country and was thus absent from Naseby. The 1645 part of his History of the Great Rebellion was written between 1671 and his death, and relies heavily on Edward Walker's work on the Naseby campaign.
Sir Henry Slingsby (1602-1658)
Was a Yorkshireman who served in the Low Countries in the 1630s. In 1642 he commanded the Trained Bands of York and then raised his own regiment of foot to serve under the Duke of Newcastle. He was with the Northern Horse at Leicester and at Naseby. He stayed with Charles I after that disaster and was finally sent home in 1646. In hiding he completed his Diary. He was a leader of the unsuccessful rising of 1655 and was beheaded in London in June 1658.
Richard Symonds (1617-1692?)
Served as a trooper in the King's Lifeguard of Horse and kept a diary in which he records not only the events of the war but also his researches into the churches of England. His account is factual rather than analytical, but contains a list of the strength of the Royalist regiments before the siege of Leicester in May 1645 which provides some foundation for calculating the numbers of Charles I's forces at Naseby.

Parliamentarian

The Reverend Joshua Sprigge (1618-1684)
Was born in Banbury and educated in Edinburgh, becoming a clergyman. He was chaplain to Sir Thomas Fairfax and was possibly with the Parliamentarian train at Naseby. His book Anglia Rediviva was published in 1647 and gives an account of the actions, some of which he may have witnessed, of the New Model Army. It contains Robert Streeter's engraving of the battle; a pictogram made in the style conventional at that time rather than a map in modern terms. That Anglia Rediviva was, in effect, an official history of the New Model Army is a suggestion supported by the fact that Parliament votes funds to cover the printers financial loss on the publication.
Frances Rushworth
Was secretary to Fairfax and wrote a long letter about the battle of Naseby from Market Harborough at 2am the next morning.
Captain Edward Wogan (d.1654)
Was an officer with Okey's Dragoons and wrote of his experiences some years later.
Bulstrode Whitelocke (1605-1676)
Was member of Parliament for Marlow, Buckinghamshire, before the war and attempted to stay safe in the middle ground of politics. He compiled Memorials of English Affairs which was eventually published in 1853 and is largely drawn from secondary sources.
Sir Samuel Luke (1603-1670)
Was governor of Newport Pagnell and conducted a substantial correspondence with his father in London and with other officers of the Parliamentarian armies. His letterbooks have been published and form a valuable source for historians. They also show how much mistaken information was communicated during the war.