On 19 August, hungry, cold, soaking wet, exhausted and short of dry powder, the Scottish infantry turned to fight at Winwick.

There is also a letter by the Parliamentarian cavalry officer Major John Sanderson giving details of his participation in the battle and an account of it written by the Royalist James Heath in 1661.

An infantry regiment was usually made up of 10 equally sized companies and typically had a nominal or establishment strength of 800 or 1,000 men; this was rarely met.

These relied on the glowing end of a length of slow match, thin cord soaked in saltpetre, igniting the weapon's priming powder when the trigger was pulled.

The usual tactic against infantry was for the musketmen to fire on their opponents and once it was thought they had been sufficiently weakened or demoralised the stand of pikemen would advance, attempting to break through the enemy centre.

[17][18][13] Against cavalry, doctrine called for infantry units to tighten the spacing between their files so that each man took up only 18 inches (46 cm) frontage and to advance steadily.

The cavalrymen all wore metal lobster-tailed pot helmets which protected the head and, usually, the neck, cheeks and, to an extent, face; and thigh-length boots.

[11] Body armour – a cuirass (metal chest and back plates) – was worn by most cavalrymen, although many relied on just a jacket of thick uncured leather.

Flintlock mechanisms were more expensive than matchlock ones and were usually reserved for the cavalry, who found igniting and using the slow match while controlling a horse inconvenient.

They would discharge their pistols at very short range and upon coming into contact attempt to use the sheer weight of their mounts and the mass of their formation to force back their opponents and burst through their ranks.

These had arisen from the Scots' refusal to accept Charles's attempts to reform the Scottish Kirk to bring it into line with English religious practices.

Charles agreed to confirm the Solemn League and Covenant by Act of Parliament in both kingdoms, and other conditions, in return for the Scots' assistance in enforcing his claim to the English throne.

[36] After a protracted political struggle those in favour of it, known as the Engagers, gained a majority in the Scottish Parliament[37] and on 11 April 1648 repudiated the 1643 treaty with the Parliamentarians.

[note 3] This had been split into garrisons across the country;[39] its commander, Sir Thomas Fairfax, based in London, put down the revolt in Kent on 1 June at the fiercely fought Battle of Maidstone.

[37] With rebellion breaking out in England and Wales and the Scottish army marching for the border the future of Britain hung in the balance, in the view of the modern historian Ian Gentles.

[46] When Lieutenant General Oliver Cromwell arrived in South Wales on 11 May with 5,000 men of the New Model Army he found the local Parliamentarian forces regaining control.

[48] As the situation with regards to the siege and the restiveness of the local populace improved, Cromwell despatched cavalry regiments one at a time to march north and reinforce Lambert.

This combined force besieged Appleby Castle while waiting for reinforcements and artillery from Scotland and the arrival of a Scottish corps which had been serving in Ireland.

On 13 August Cromwell directed his army westward; Langdale promptly informed Hamilton that the combined Parliamentarian force was bearing down on their east flank, but this warning was largely disregarded.

Langdale's corps of 4,000 men was 8 miles (13 km) north east of Preston and falling back ahead of the Parliamentarian advance scouts.

Hamilton concentrated on passing the Scottish infantry over the Ribble bridge while Langdale set up a defensive position north west of Preston.

The bridge was strongly defended by 600 Scottish infantry, but the Parliamentarians captured it in two hours of furious fighting, by which time night was falling.

[2][59][60] On the evening of 18 August at least a substantial part of the Scottish infantry formed up on Standish Moor north of Wigan, briefly holding off their pursuers.

Hungry, cold, soaking wet, exhausted and short of dry powder or matchlock the Scots continued south, leaving bands of stragglers and deserters behind them.

[64] English Heritage estimate that the Scots numbered about 4,000–6,000 infantry at the start of the battle; the historian Richard Brooks gives a total of 7,000, including the cavalry, who were not engaged.

The Parliamentarian pursuers rode up the road – their horses were exhausted and unable to manage more than a walk – and in the words of Hodgson the Scots "snaffled our forlorn [advance guard], and put them to retreat".

Cromwell's account accepts that several Parliamentarian pike attacks were thrown back and talks of his troops "charging very hard upon them [the Scots]".

[71] During this hiatus the Parliamentarian infantry took a circuitous route to the east behind woods and in dead ground to emerge on the flank and rear of the Scots.

The prisoners, excepting the senior commanders, were promised their lives and their clothes, they were not to be beaten, the sick and wounded would be treated locally and Hamilton was allowed six servants.

Farming and mining activities, and work on the Wigan to Warrington road, have considerably altered the lie of the land; there has also been housing development around the fringes of the site, especially to the south.