Cornwall in the English Civil War

In October 1642, Cornwall was secured for the king when some 10,000 men rose under the command of the local Royalist gentry and drove out the small force of Cornish Parliamentarians who had gathered at Launceston.

Hopton's victory secured Cornwall for the King and the Royalists resumed the siege of Plymouth with their forces occupying surrounding towns to seal off the city by land.

[5] Taunton and Bridgwater were taken by the Cornish army, but Sir Bevil Grenville was killed in the moment of victory at the Battle of Lansdown in Somerset and Hopton was seriously wounded.

Sir Richard Grenville arrived in Plymouth in March 1644 to maintain a blockade, but it resulted in a stalemate as the inhabitants obtained enough provisions to survive.

Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, arrived in command of the Roundhead army of 8000 men and forced Grenville to retreat to Cornwall across the River Tamar.

In an untenable position, Essex moved to escape on 31 August first ordering his cavalry to cross the River Fowey and flee to Plymouth which they did successfully.

Without a chance of reaching Fowey with his infantry, Essex and his command staff stole away during the night to the seashore where they used a fishing boat to escape to Plymouth.

[8][10] The Battle of Lostwithiel was a great victory for King Charles and the greatest loss that the Parliamentarians would suffer in the First English Civil War.

Prince Charles, the war being mainly in the eastern counties, spent a great part of the autumn and winter in Cornwall, principally at Launceston and Truro.

Sir Richard Grenville was committed by the Prince to Launceston Prison, for refusing to obey Lord Hopton: he had already quarrelled with General George Goring.