[3] At some point before 1639, he married Anne Button (died 1681); they had one surviving child, another Rowland (ca 1640–1691), who avoided politics, but appears to have had Tory sympathies, since he refused to swear allegiance to William III after the 1688 Glorious Revolution.

Laugharne, Rice Powell, and John Poyer, mayor of Pembroke, were instrumental in holding it for Parliament, helped by the inefficiency of the Earl of Carbery, the local Royalist commander.

[7] Confronted by fresh troops under Sir Charles Gerard, Laugharne withdrew to his bases in Pembroke and Tenby, which Parliamentarian control of the sea made virtually impregnable.

[8] Gerard established garrisons at Aberystwyth, Kidwelly, Carmarthen, Cardigan, Newcastle Emlyn, Laugharne, and Roch, devastated the lands between, then returned to Royalist headquarters in Oxford.

In August 1645, Laugharne secured Pembrokeshire by his victory at Colby Moor, then set about reducing the remaining Royalist garrisons in South Wales, a process mostly completed by early 1646.

The moderates held a majority in Parliament, with military backing from the London Trained Bands, the Western Association under Edward Massey, Laugharne and Poyer in Wales, as well as elements of the Royal Navy.

Many viewed Poyer and Laugharne with suspicion, particularly since Charles continued to negotiate with the Irish Confederacy for military support, making it vital to control ports like Cardiff and Milford Haven.

[5] The economic cost of the war, a poor 1646 harvest, and recurrence of the plague meant Parliament could not meet all of its obligations; by March 1647, the troops in Wales had not been paid for eighteen months, while the New Model was owed over £3 million, an enormous sum at the time.

[12] It was now clear the only way to keep control of their mutinous troops was to ensure they were paid; in April, the three leaders declared their support for restoring Charles, in line with the terms being discussed with Parliamentary moderates.

[2] He never recovered his financial losses, and played little part in politics; shortly before his death in November 1675, his wife claimed he had been obliged ‘to pawn his cloak and sword, and has only 3 shillings in the world’.