In April, Cromwell heard that the Scots were conspiring with the Royalists and were about to invade England. He therefore hastily raised an army and proceeded to the north to meet this threat. There were Royalist uprisings at several places in England. Some regiments were detached under the command of Fairfax to deal with these. Cromwell met the Scots at Preston and soundly defeated them. He then proceeded into Scotland and occupied Edinburgh.

On his return to London, Cromwell found that Parliament had resumed talks with the King and was on the point of restoring him to the throne. Cromwell and the Army Council were against this and, to make sure it did not happen, seized the King and removed him to a castle in Hampshire. Their troops occupied London and on December 6th, 1648, Colonel Pride and a company of volunteers invaded the House of Commons and arrested some forty-five members who were known to be hostile to the council. The reduced house was permitted to continue sitting and became known as the "Rump Parliament". The King, under heavy guard, was moved from Hampshire to Windsor Castle.

In January 1649 an ordinance to bring the King to trial was passed by the Rump Parliament. Once more the King was moved, this time to St. James Palace in London. He was brought to trial at Westminster on January 20th, 1649. Since no judge could be persuaded to act, a special court under the chairmanship of John Bradshaw [1], was appointed to try the King. More than half of the Commissioners named refused to act but the trial proceeded just the same. The trial lasted about a week and Charles was convicted and sentenced on January 27th, to be executed. He was publicly beheaded in Whitehall on January 30th, 1649.

Since the end of the war John Disbrowe had been steadily rising in prominence. In September 1648 he was promoted to Colonel and given command of the forces at Great Yarmouth [2]. While loyal to Cromwell he was no mere sycophant and did not hesitate to differ with him when the occasion demanded. He was in favour of abolishing the monarchy but against the plan to bring the King to trial. When Cromwell sought to involve him by naming him one of the Commissioners to try the King, he refused to sign the death warrant. In this he was joined by Skippon , Lambert and Fleetwood [3].

The execution of the King was followed by constitutional changes of great importance. The monarchy and the House of Lords were abolished and on May 19, 1649, a Republic or Commonwealth was proclaimed.

The new state was faced with many problems. The execution of the King had horrified the rulers of Europe who proceeded to oppose the republic by supporting the exiled Royalists and interfering with English trade. At home the country was still divided and this was demonstrated by bitter quarrels in Parliament. But in spite of all this the country forged ahead to a position of strength. A sound financial position was established, the army was increased in strength and the fleet was reorganized and new fighting ships added to it.

During this period Colonel John Disbrowe, now a career army officer, was busy with military affairs. In the early part of 1649 he was busy in the west of England putting down Royalist risings and enlisting recruits for the Irish campaign [4]. When Cromwell was appointed Commander-in-Chief in Ireland and ordered to suppress the rebellion in that unhappy country Disbrowe, at last, was named to succeed him in command of the regiment of Ironsides [5]. This was a great moment, for he had been with this famous fighting regiment since it was founded in the early days of the war.

The Irish were no sooner dealt with that the Commonwealth became involved in another Scottish war. Charles II, the son of the executed King, was proclaimed King of Scotland, England and Ireland. Parliament responded to the threat by appointing Cromwell to the supreme command of all its forces on land and sea. Acting with the characteristic dispatch, he marched into Scotland at the head of an army of 16,000 men. He met the Scots at Dunbar on September 2nd and won a great victory. The Scots lost 3000 men killed and 10,000 as prisoners but, in spite of their losses, refused to capitulate. It was not until a year later at Worcester that they were finally defeated.

Colonel Disbrowe did not participate in the battle of Dunbar. He was still in the west of England pursuing Royalists and organizing the government. From his headquarters at Exeter he dispatched a letter congratulating Cromwell on his victory and piously warning him not to let it go to his head.

Colonel John Disbrowe To The Lord General Cromwell [6]:

Having this opportunity, I could doe no lesse than troble you with these lines, to acquaint you that I rejoyce much in the goodness of our God, in carringe you through many straights and difficulties which you have met withal. Truly, sir, these dealings of our God calls for an acknowledgement of all or mercies to himselfe; he alone is the Lord of Hosts, your victories have been given you of himselfe; it is himselfe that hath raised you up amongst men, and hath called you to imployments; he hath been very good to you; certainely where much is given, much is required; and so longe as we are made to owne our God in our mercies, so long he will own us in continuinge mercies. Sir, high places are slipery, except God establisheth our goeings; he hath bine very faythfull to us, and I trust will still do us good himselfe, helpe us to trust in him, and then, I am sure, we shall not be ashamed. Sir, my hart hath bin, and is much with you; accept all from him that truly loves you.

Sir, major Jenkines intendinge to wait one you, gave me this oppertunity to troble you; truly he hath carried himselfe in all his bussines, since I came to the regiment, exceedinge well; and it he should desire your favour in any thinge that may concerne him, I begge you would afford him it, he doth truly love and honnor your Lordship; he is a major in Col. Popome's militia regiment in Somersetshire, and hath much respect from all the well affected gentlemen in that country.

Sir my wife, who is now at Exeter with me, desires to have her hearty love presented to you, and so doth he who desires a share in your praires, and forgitts not you, and is
Your loving brother,
John Disbrowe

Exon 30 Sept. 1650

For his Excellencie the
Lord Cromwell, General of
Parliament's forces, These humbly

The war had continued and in August 1651 the Scots under Charles II had recovered sufficiently to actually invade England. It was a desperate venture undertaken with a small army but he hoped to enlist others as he marched south. This hope collapsed when he was attacked by Cromwell at Worcester on September 3rd; he had only 16,000 men under his command.

Cromwell's army numbering 45,000, attacked from two sides. The Scots were badly defeated with great loss of lives and units hopelessly broken and scattered beyond recovery. Charles managed to escape but was pursued from one hiding place to another in Scotland and England before finally escaping to France.

In recognition of his great service in the southwest, Disbrowe had been promoted to the rank of Major General. While he missed the battle of Dunbar he came up from the south to join Cromwell and was present at Worcester where he commanded all or part of Cromwell's horse [7]. After the battle he returned to the southwest where Charles II, in his flight, encountered him.

According to Whitelock [8], Charles, when he escaped from Disbrowe, was near Salisbury. He was posing as a servant of one Colonel Phillips and was riding with his supposed master. To make the disguise more plausible, a female accomplice was riding on a pillion behind him. They came face to face with Disbrowe's regiment and were obliged to pass through it. They saw Disbrowe and four other officers, none of whom stopped or questioned them.

Shortly after Worcester Parliament voted Cromwell an income of £4000 per year and gave him Hampton Court Palace for a residence. He was in a position of great power though still nominally subject to Parliament. It was this stage that the first whispered proposals to make him king were heard. But the soldiers were against it: "Why," asked Disbrowe [9], "may not this as well as other nations, be governed in the way of a republic?" His stand on this matter probably accounted for his appointment by Parliament in January 1652, to the Commission for the Reform of the Law [10]. This commission presented proposals for many excellent reforms and prepared a "System of the Law" for Parliament's consideration.

In foreign affairs, great successes were now achieved by the Commonwealth. The Dutch, who were the strongest naval power of the time, were defeated at sea and the English took their place, a position they were to maintain for more than 250 years. England's power was felt as far distant as the Mediterranean and the West Indies.

But Cromwell and the Army Council were unsatisfied with the slow and ponderous methods of Parliament. Some of the officers wanted to forcibly dissolve Parliament early in 1653 but Cromwell and Disbrowe successfully headed off this movement. But when they became convinced that Parliament intended to perpetuate itself in office, they yielded to the views of the Council. On April 19th Cromwell entered the House of Commons at the head of a company of musketeers. He personally pulled the speaker from the chair saying, "I will put an end to your sitting," and, pointing to the Mace, "take away these baubles." All the members were then expelled from the house and the doors barred.

The suppression of Parliament left Cromwell, in his capacity as chief of the armed forces, the most powerful man in England. He was extremely popular with the public which was weary of its contentious Parliament which seemed incapable of governing. However he was not prepared as yet to openly assume the role of dictator. To avoid being accused of this his first act was to set up a temporary Council of State.

The new Council consisted of Cromwell and thirteen others. Among its members were five of the Major Generals, namely [12]: Disbrowe, Lambert, Fleetwood, Skippon and Montague. As a substitute for Parliament Cromwell proposed to set up an "assembly of notables" and congregational churches throughout the country were asked to submit the names of persons whom they considered suitable to represent their districts. From this list the Council selected one hundred and forty five men: five from Scotland; six from Ireland; and the remainder from England. The new Assembly met in July 1653 and one of its first actions was to confirm the thirteen members of the Council of State as heads of the various departments of government. On Cromwell's recommendation, Major General Disbrowe became Commissioner of the Treasury [13].

But Cromwell soon became dissatisfied with his "Little Parliament" which displayed a distressing tendency to disagree with him. The army too was convinced that its power was being eroded and Lambert organized a conspiracy to bring it down. They brought pressure to bear on a majority of the members and on December 12, 1653, the Assembly voted to hand over its powers to the Lord General. Shortly thereafter Cromwell was proclaimed Lord Protector of the Commonwealth.

An "Instrument of Government," a sort of constitution, was drawn up by Lambert and his associates and approved by Cromwell. This document, produced by the generals, was more liberal in character than might have been expected. It provided for a form of government in which the administrative and legislative branches were completely separated. In general, the legislative branch was to make the laws and the Lord Protector would administer them. He was also given control of foreign affairs, a department in which quick decisions were sometimes needed. Membership in the Council of State was defined and provision made for filling vacancies caused by death or resignation. Religious freedom was guaranteed to all except Papists and Prelatists. Cromwell was installed in his new office with great pomp and ceremony on December 16, 1653.

One of Cromwell's first executive orders was to name Major General Disbrowe along with General Blake, General Monk and Admiral Penn to be Generals at Sea and Commissioners of the navy [14]. Although Disbrowe had no previous experience in naval affairs he lost no time in assuming his new responsibilities. This is indicated by a letter dated January 5, 1653 [sic], concerning dealings with the Dutch envoys who had been sent to negotiate with Cromwell. The letter is signed by both Blake and Disbrowe.

General Disbrowe and General Blake to the Protector [15]:

Maie it Please Your Highnesse,
Two of the lords deputies, viz. Newport and Beverning, have this daie been at the lady Ashley's neere Maidstone, and returned about six a clock this evening; since which time coll. Dolman hath been with us, and acquaints us, that all is agreed unto by the deputies, and so much hath been signified by them in a letter to your highness, and that they doubt not but a confirmation will be sent from their masters by the same frigott, that wafts them over. Wee replied, that we could not order her to stay any time upon that coast, without your highnesse's directions; and therefore asked him, whether any such desire had been represented from them in their letter, or any anser returned thereunto?
He told us there was not; soe that we shall forbeare giving any such orders, unlesse we receive your highnesse's pleasure therein. We understand by Doleman that they intend to goe on board tomorrow. The Amitie being in the Hope, we have appointed her to receave them in, and transport them for Holland; which they seem rather to accept of then the Paragon, she draewing less water. Wee intend to tarry here moste parte of tomorrow, and shal be readie to receive any commands from your highness; which shall be observed by your highnesse most humble and faithful servants,

John Disbrowe
Robert Blake

Gravesend 5 Jan. 1653

Notes on Chapter Seven:

[1] - An obscure Gray's Inn lawyer who was chosen because no other would take the job.

[2] - Whitelock, Vol. I, p. 337

[3] - Colonel, later Major General Charles Fleetwood; he later (1652) married Bridget Cromwell, the widow of Ireton.

[4] - Whitelock, pp. 435-439

[5] - Ashley (2), p. 154

[6] - Thurloe, Vol. III, p. 26 of the appendix

[7] - Ashley (2), p. 57

[8] - Clarendon, Vol. III, pp. 330-331

[9] - Firth (1), p. 295; Ashley (2), p. 144; Whitelock, Vol. IV, p. 373, para. 516

[10] - Whitelock, p. 560

[11] - Ashley (1), p. 268; Gardiner, Vol. II, p. 190

[12] - Ashley (2), p. 140; Ludlow, Vol. I, p. 371

[13] - Ludlow, Vol. I, p. 372

[14] - Whitelock, p. 570; Ludlow, Vol. I, p. 364

[15] - Thurloe, Vol. II, p. 9

Chapter Eight: An Eventful Year (1654)