The only significant military action of the war, victory enabled the Scots to take Newcastle, which provided the bulk of London's coal supplies, and allowed them to put pressure on the central government.

The Scots insisted Charles recall Parliament to ratify the peace settlement; he did so in November 1640, a key element in the events leading to the First English Civil War in August 1642.

[1] The vast majority of Scots, whether Covenanter or Royalist, believed a 'well-ordered' monarchy was divinely mandated; they disagreed on what 'well-ordered' meant, and who held ultimate authority in clerical affairs.

However, Charles' suspension of the Parliament of England during the period of Personal Rule from 1629 to 1640 meant there was insufficient support or money to conduct such operations, which largely failed to materialise.

[6] This allowed the Covenanters to consolidate their domestic position by defeating Royalist forces in Aberdeenshire, while the chaotic state of the English army left them unable to mount any effective opposition.

On the march north, lack of supplies meant they looted the areas they passed through, creating widespread disorder; several units murdered officers suspected of being Catholics, before deserting.

[10] Lacking reliable troops, Lord Conway, commander in the north, assumed a defensive posture and focused on reinforcing Berwick-upon-Tweed, the usual starting point for invading England.

[11] Since Conway had insufficient men to adequately hold Newcastle and provide a large enough field army to confront Leslie, he left the town with a skeleton garrison and positioned most of his troops near Hexham, gambling on the Scots crossing the River Tyne there.

Given the strong defences north of the river, he decided to cross the Tyne at Newburn, then a small village six miles outside Newcastle, which would allow him to attack its weaker, southern side.

[12] On the evening of 27 August, Conway arrived at Newburn with 1,000 cavalry and 2,000 infantry, who began building defences on the south bank of the Tyne, supervised by Colonel Thomas Lunsford.

[14] Hamilton's artillery now began an intense bombardment of the hastily prepared defences around the ford, which they soon dismantled; despite Lunsford's efforts to rally them, his troops abandoned their positions, allowing the Scots to cross.

[17] Both sides suffered around 300 casualties, and Leslie ordered his troops to refrain from pursuit; already in secret contact with John Pym and the Parliamentary opposition, the Scots wanted to avoid making it harder to agree terms.