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| What
happened after the battle |
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| King
Charles House in Worcester |
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What
happened to Charles after the battle of Worcester, and the fate of
the Scottish army who fought for him. |
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What
happened to Charles?
Charles
escaped Worcester after the battle by the skin of his teeth.
He was almost captured by Parliamentary cavalry as the Royalist defenses
around Sidbury collapsed.
With Cromwell's men inside the city walls in strength and controlling
three of the four city gates it wasn't easy for Charles to escape.
Fortunately his headquarters was in the Cornmarket, near the St Martin's
Gate, and he was able to escape through this with Lord Wilmott and
others.
Wilmott stayed with him during his six weeks on the run - Charles
had a price of £1000 on his head and there was a sentence of
death awaiting anyone who was caught helping him.
At one point, legend has it, Charles hid in an oak tree to escape
his pursuers.
After sheltering in a number of Royalist "safe houses" and
a failed attempt to get out of the country at Bristol Charles managed
to escape via Shoreham to Fécamp in France.
It would be nine years before he returned to the country after the
death of Oliver Cromwell.
What happened to the Scots army?
Most of the 16,000 troops who fought for Charles at the
Battle of Worcester were Scottish.
Casualty figures after civil war battles can never be precise but
it's estimated that 3,000 Scots died in the battle.
A further 2,000 were captured and sent to the "New World"
colonies in North America.
Most ended up in New England and Virginia, states which still maintain
their Scottish links to this day.
There is a memorial to the Scottish troops who died at the Battle
of Worcester at the old Powick Bridge.
It's a two-ton block of Scottish granite, and was unveiled by the
veteran MP Tam Dalyell, one of who's ancestors fought in the battle.
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