The precise date and location of his birth are uncertain; his father was rector of Bramber, Sussex, but lost this position in 1607 for his part in organising a Puritan petition to James I.

Raised in autumn 1642 to reinforce the Parliamentarian field army commanded by the Earl of Essex, in 1643 this unit helped lift the Siege of Gloucester and fought at the First Battle of Newbury.

[8][c] Over the next year, this formation served in numerous actions, including the battles of Naseby, Langport and Torrington, as well as the sieges of Bridgwater, Bristol, Berkeley Castle and Exeter.

[10] However, victory resulted in increasingly bitter disputes over the post-war political settlement between radicals within the New Model like Cromwell, and moderate MPs in Parliament, the most prominent being Denzil Holles.

[12] [d] Like fellow New Model officers such as Generals Thomas Harrison and Robert Overton, both members of the Christian millennialist sect known as the Fifth Monarchists, Goffe was convinced the Second Coming was imminent.

Goffe argued Charles I should be put on trial, and suggested those in favour of continuing negotiations with him were preventing the return of Jesus Christ by "thwarting God's will".

[1] When the Second English Civil War broke out in 1648, Goffe's regiment was part of the force which put down the rising in South Wales, including the recapture of Pembroke Castle in April.

[15] Now a Lieutenant Colonel, Goffe and others argued the renewed fighting was "God's punishment" for failing to bring the king to "justice", a viewpoint which had been adopted by Cromwell.

[17] Goffe commanded Cromwell's own infantry regiment at Dunbar in September 1650, and was subsequently promoted its colonel, then fought at Worcester a year later, two victories that ended the war.

[19] Rewarded for his service with grants of former Crown lands in Hertfordshire, Goffe backed the dismissal of the Rump in April 1653, and its replacement with a nominated body known as Barebone's Parliament.

[5] In early 1655, he helped suppress the pro-Royalist Penruddock uprising, and was promoted major general in October 1655; during the Rule of the Major-Generals, he served as administrator for the region composed of Berkshire, Sussex, and Hampshire.

[24] This ended Goffe's period of influence, although during their struggle with the re-installed Rump Parliament, the military-backed Committee of Safety made him part of a four-man delegation sent in November to seek support from George Monck, military governor in Scotland.

Aware that they faced prosecution and probable execution, Goffe and his father-in-law Edward Whalley sailed for Boston, Massachusetts on 13 May 1660, one day before warrants were issued for their arrest.

[27] However, at the end of November it was confirmed that they had been excluded from the Indemnity and Oblivion Act passed by Parliament in August,[f] making it impolitic for the Massachusetts authorities to openly protect them.

[1] Based on these letters and papers discovered a century later, he and Whalley built up a small trading business, and were prosperous enough for Goffe to tell Frances not to send any more money.