Aka Battle of Rowan Moor. Battle occurred on 09/24/1645 during the English Civil War.
A Parliamentarian victory that ended Royalist hopes of relieving Chester, accelerating the fall of the King's last major port in 1646.
Key Facts
- Date
- 24 September 1645
- Royalists killed
- 600 men
- Royalists captured
- 900 men
- Parliamentarian horse (Poyntz)
- ~3,000 horse
- Royalist horse (Langdale)
- ~3,000 horse
- Chester fell to Parliamentarians
- 3 February 1646
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following the Royalist defeat at Naseby, Charles I sought to relieve the Parliamentarian siege of Chester, his only remaining port. He sent 3,000 horse under Marmaduke Langdale to camp outside the city while he entered Chester on 23 September 1645, planning a coordinated attack. Charles wrongly believed Parliamentarian commander Sydnam Poyntz had not followed him; Poyntz was in fact only 15 miles behind.
On 24 September 1645, Poyntz attacked Langdale's Royalist cavalry outside Chester. Although Langdale initially drove Poyntz back, Parliamentarian besiegers sent reinforcements. Royalist relief forces under Charles Gerard and Lord Bernard Stewart were prevented from joining Langdale, who was then overwhelmed by Poyntz's combined force on Rowton Heath. The Royalists failed to regroup at Chester and retreated at dusk.
Royalist casualties totalled approximately 1,500, with 600 killed including Lord Bernard Stewart and 900 taken prisoner. Charles I was unable to relieve Chester's defenders, and Chester surrendered to the Parliamentarians on 3 February 1646, costing the Royalists their last significant port and further weakening Charles's strategic position in the Civil War.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Sydnam Poyntz.
Side B
1 belligerent
Marmaduke Langdale, King Charles I, Charles Gerard, Lord Bernard Stewart.