Oliver Cromwell Revolutionary War

Oliver Cromwell was 43 years old when he set out for the revolutionary war. Oliver Cromwell threw himself into the cause with all the vigor and strength of a young revolutionary. Oliver Cromwell was fighting for his religion and for his political rights as an Englishman. It was, so he told his son Oliver, "God's battle." Young Oliver was recruited as a soldier and when he died later in battle, Oliver Cromwell locked himself up in his room for hours, with his face buried in his hands, praying.

What happened at Oliver Cromwell 's revolutionary war?

The first thing Oliver Cromwell's army did was seize King Charles I 's arsenal. The second thing it did was seize all the available gold and silver, to prevent it from being donated to King Charles.

Soon, Oliver Cromwell's companies had become part of a 14,000-member army assembled by Parliament, and commanded by the Earl of Essex. Their first battle was a defeat - the King's cavalry of young gentlemen had trained from youth to ride and use weapons, and followed a code of honor that never allowed them to retreat. The ordinary workmen and shop folk in the Parliamentary army were no match.

How did Oliver Cromwell raise his army in the revolutionary war?

Oliver Cromwell learned from the defeat. He began to wonder where he could find men as brave and disciplined as the King's cavaliers - and then the answer came to him. He would raise a regiment of Puritans, men dedicated to God, who would go into battle singing hymns, and who were as willing to die for their religion as the King's men were for their honor.

For months Oliver Cromwell recruited such men until he had an entire regiment, so daring and strong that it was nicknamed Ironsides. Oliver Cromwell demanded good treatment and regular pay for his soldiers but he also exercised strict discipline. If they swore, they were fined. If they drank, they were put in the stocks. If they called each other Roundheads - the name Royalists had given them because of their close-cropped hair - they were cashiered (dismissed in disgrace).

How good was Oliver Cromwell in the revolutionary war?

Oliver Cromwell trained his regiment so well that he was able to check and re-form them after they charged into battle, one of his outstanding gifts as a commander. Oliver Cromwell had a rare combination of technical and practical skill, and magnetic appeal. It is Oliver Cromwell who made the famous remark, while leading his troops across a river to attack the enemy: "Put your trust in God, but mind you, keep your powder dry." Within a year he had won so many critical battles that he was promoted to Lieutenant General. He managed this without any military training or experience, but by carefully studying the strategies of other military leaders in history, and by his own natural talents.

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