Henry Ireton
MP in the Long Parliament and Rump Parliament
Born	1611
Died	1651 Limerick, Ireland
Spouse	Bridget Cromwell
Profession	Politician, soldier
Religion	Independent

Henry Ireton (1611 - November 26, 1651), was an English general in the army of Parliament during the English Civil War. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. The Long Parliament is the name of the English Parliament called by Charles I, on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. The Rump Parliament was the name of the English Parliament after Colonel Pride on December 6 1648 had purged Long Parliament of those Limerick (pronounced /ˈlɪmrɪk/ Luimneach in Irish) is a city and the county seat of County Limerick in the Province of Munster Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world A politician (from Greek " Polis " is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of Politics or a person A soldier is a general English term that refers to a member of a land component of National Armed forces. In English Church history, Independents advocated local congregational control of religious and church matters without any wider geographical hierarchy Events 43 BC - The Second Triumvirate alliance of Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus ("Octavian" later "Caesar Augustus" England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The Parliament of England was the Legislature of the Kingdom of England. The English Civil War (1642-1651 was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists. He was the son-in-law of Oliver Cromwell. Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 Old Style &ndash 3 September 1658 Old Style) was an English military and political leader best known

Early life

He was the eldest son of German Ireton of Attenborough, Nottinghamshire, and was baptized on November 3, 1611. Attenborough is a suburb in the Broxtowe borough of Nottinghamshire. Nottinghamshire (abbreviated Notts) is an English county in the East Midlands, which borders South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire Events 644 - Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second Muslim Caliph, is killed by a Persian slave in Medina. He became a gentleman commoner of Trinity College, Oxford in 1626, graduated BA in 1629, and entered the Middle Temple the same year. The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope (Knight, or Trinity College for short is one of the The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as Barristers

English Civil War

On the outbreak of the Civil War, he joined the parliamentary army, fighting at the Battle of Edgehill in October 1642, and at the Battle of Gainsborough in July 1643. The English Civil War (1642-1651 was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists. The Battle of Edgehill (or Edge Hill) was the first Pitched battle of the First English Civil War. The Battle of Gainsborough was a battle in the English Civil War. He was made deputy-governor of the Isle of Ely by Cromwell, and served under Manchester in the Yorkshire campaign and at the second Battle of Newbury, afterwards supporting Cromwell in his accusations of incompetency against the general. Ely (, rhyming with "freely" is a Cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England. Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 Old Style &ndash 3 September 1658 Old Style) was an English military and political leader best known Edward Montagu 2nd Earl of Manchester KG, KB, FRS (1602 &ndash May 5, 1671) was an important commander of Parliamentary The Second Battle of Newbury was a Battle of the English Civil War fought on October 27, 1644, in Speen, adjoining Newbury

On the night before the battle of Naseby, in June 1645, Ireton succeeded in surprising the Royalist army and captured many prisoners. The Battle of Naseby was the key battle of the first English Civil War. Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I during the English Civil War ( 1642 &ndash 1651 The next day, on the suggestion of Cromwell, he was made commissary-general and appointed to the command of the left wing, Cromwell himself commanding the right. The wing under Ireton was completely broken by the impetuous charge of Rupert, and Ireton was wounded and taken prisoner, but after the rout of the enemy which ensued on the successful charge of Cromwell, he regained his freedom. Rupert Count Palatine of the Rhine Duke of Bavaria (German Ruprecht Pfalzgraf bei Rhein Herzog von Bayern) commonly called Prince Rupert of the Rhine, (17

He was present at the siege of Bristol in September 1645 and took an active part in the subsequent victorious campaign which resulted in the overthrow of the royal cause. Bristol ( ˈbrɪstəl is a city, Unitary authority and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London On October 30, 1645, Ireton entered parliament as member for Appleby. Events 637 - Antioch surrenders to the Muslim forces under Rashidun Caliphate after the Battle of Iron bridge. Appleby was the name of a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom) for two periods as a borough represented by two On June 15, 1646, during the siege of Oxford he married Bridget, daughter of Oliver Cromwell. Events 763 BC - Assyrians record a Solar eclipse that will be used to fix the Chronology of Mesopotamian history The Siege of Oxford was a Parliamentarian victory late in the First English Civil War. The marriage brought Ireton's career into parallel with Cromwell's.

Political views and debates over the future of the monarchy

However, while Cromwell's policy was practically limited to making the best of the present situation, and was inclined to compromise, Ireton's attitude was based on well-grounded principles of statesmanship. At the Putney Debates, he opposed extremism, disliked the views of the Republicans and the Levellers, which he considered impractical and dangerous to the foundations upon which society was based, and wished to retain the constitution of King, Lords and Commons. The Putney Debates were a series of discussions between members of the New Model Army and the Levellers, concerning the makeup of a new Constitution for See Levellers (disambiguation for alternative meanings. The Levellers were members of a mid 17th century English Political movement The House of Lords is the second house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords" The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords He argued for these in the negotiations of the army with Parliament, and in the conferences with the king, being the person chiefly entrusted with the drawing up of the army proposals, including the manifesto called "The Heads of the Proposals" which proposed a constitutional monarchy. A constitutional monarchy, or a limited monarchy, is a form of Constitutional Government, wherein either an elected or hereditary Monarch is He tried to prevent the breach between the army and parliament, but when it happened, he supported the negotiations with the king till his actions made him unpopular.

He finally became convinced of the hopelessness of dealing with Charles, and, after the king's flight to the Isle of Wight, treated his further proposals with coldness and urged the parliament to establish an administration without him. Charles I, (19 November 1600 &ndash 30 January 1649 was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution. The Isle of Wight is an English Island and county in the English Channel between three and five miles (8 km from the south coast of the Ireton served under Fairfax in the second civil war in the campaigns, in Kent and Essex, and was responsible for the executions of Sir Charles Lucas and Sir George Lisle at Colchester. Thomas Fairfax 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (17 January 1612 &ndash 12 November 1671 was a general and parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War. KENT (1400 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a Adult Standards/MOR format Essex is a county in the East of England. The County town is Chelmsford, and the highest point of the county is Chrishall Common Sir Charles Lucas (1613&ndash 28 August 1648) was an English soldier a Royalist commander in the English Civil War. Sir George Lisle (c 1610 - August 29, 1648) was a Royalist leader in the English Civil War. Colchester ( /ˈkəʊltʃɛstə/ is a town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester, in Essex, England. After the rejection by the king of the last offers of the army, he showed special zeal in bringing about his trial. He wrote the Army's statement about the regicide - the Remonstrance of the Army - with Hugh Peters. Hugh Peters '''Peter''' (June 1598 - October 16, 1660) English preacher was the son of Thomas Dyckwoode alias Peters descended from a family He was active in the choice to purge rather than reelect Parliament and supported the Leveller 2nd Agreement of the People. He sat on the King's trial and was one of the commissioners who signed the death warrant.

Irish campaign and death

The regiment of Ireton was chosen by lot to accompany Cromwell in his Irish campaign, and Ireton arrived in Dublin two days after Cromwell on 17 August 1649, along with 77 ships full of troops and supplies. The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649-53 refers to the re-conquest of Ireland by the forces of the English Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. Ireton was appointed major-general and after the conquest of the south of Ireland, Lord President of Munster. Munster ( Irish: An Mhumhain, ənˈvuːnʲ Cúige Mumhan or Mumha) is the southernmost of the four Provinces of Ireland. He went over with John Cook with a brief to reform the law of Ireland, to anglicise it and make it a model for a new settlement of English law.

When, in May 1650, Cromwell was recalled to England, to take command of a Parliamentary force, preparing to invade Scotland, Ireton assumed command of the New Model Army in Ireland with the title and powers of lord-deputy to complete the conquest of the country. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. The Lord Deputy was the King's representative and head of the Irish executive during the Kingdom of Ireland. This he proceeded to do with his usual energy, becoming noted as much by the severity of his methods of punishment as for his military skill. By mid 1650, Ireton and his commanders were faced with two problems. One was the capture of the remaining cities held by the Irish Confederate and Royalists forces. Confederate Ireland refers to the period of Irish self-government between the Rebellion of 1641 and the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in 1649 The other was an escalating guerrilla war in the countryside, as Irish fighters known as tories attacked his supply lines. Guerrilla warfare is the unconventional warfare and combat with which a small group of combatants use mobile tactics (ambushes raids etc Rapparees (from the Irish ropairí, plural of ropaire, actually meaning half pike or a pike-wielding person were Irish guerrilla Ireton appealed to the English Parliament to publish lenient surrender terms for Irish Catholics, in order to end their resistance, but when this was refused, he began the laborious process of subduing the Catholic forces.

His first action was to mount a counter-guerrilla expedition into the Wicklow Mountains in early June 1650, in order to secure his lines of supply for the Siege of Waterford in Ireland's south east. The Wicklow Mountains (Sléibhte Chill Mhantáin including at the northern end the Dublin Mountains) are a range of mountains in the southeast of Ireland The city of Waterford in south eastern Ireland was besieged from 1649–50 during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. Having done this, Ireton blockaded Waterford into surrender by August 1650. Waterford ( or Windy fjord;) is a city in Ireland. It is the primary city of the South East region and the fifth largest in the country Not risking an assault, Ireton systematically constructed trenches to bring his siege guns within range of the walls and stationed a Parliamentary fleet off the city to prevent its re-supply. Thomas Preston surrendered Waterford after a three month siege. Thomas Preston may refer to Thomas Preston (composer, English composer (d Ireton then advanced to Limerick by October, but had to call off the siege due to cold and weather. Limerick (pronounced /ˈlɪmrɪk/ Luimneach in Irish) is a city and the county seat of County Limerick in the Province of Munster In early 1651, Ireton issued orders that areas harbouring the "tory" guerrillas should be systematically stripped of food - this policy contributed to a widespread famine in Ireland by the end of the year. A famine is a widespread shortage of food that may apply to any Faunal species which phenomenon is usually accompanied by regional Malnutrition, Starvation Ireton returned to Limerick in June 1651 and besieged the city for five months until it surrendered in October 1651. At the same time, Galway was under siege by Parliamentarian forces, and Ireton personally rode to inspect the command of Charles Coote, who was blockading that city. Galway (Gaillimh is the only city in the province of Connacht in Ireland. Galway, a port city in western Ireland, was besieged from August 1651 to May 1652 during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. The physical strain of his command told on Ireton however and he fell ill.

Shortly afterwards, when he died of fever, just after the capture of Limerick. Ireton had some of the dignitaries of Limerick hanged for their obstinate defence of the city, including an Alderman, Terence Albert O'Brien (a Catholic Bishop) and an English Royalist officer, Colonel Fennell. An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions Terence Albert O'Brien (1600 &ndash 31 October 1651) was an Irish Roman Catholic Bishop of Emly. He also wanted the Irish commander, Hugh Dubh O'Neill hanged, but Edmund Ludlow cancelled the order after Ireton's death. Hugh Dubh O'Neill ("Black Hugh" meaning "swarthy" or "dark tempered" (1611 &ndash 1660 was an Irish soldier of the seventeenth century Edmund Ludlow (c 1617 &ndash 1692 was an English parliamentarian, best known for his involvement in the execution of Charles I, and for his

His loss "struck a great sadness into Cromwell," and he was considered a great loss to the administration. By his wife, Bridget Cromwell, Ireton left one son and three daughters. Bridget afterwards married General Charles Fleetwood. Charles Fleetwood (died 4 October 1692) English Parliamentary soldier and politician third son of Sir Miles Fleetwood of

Posthumous execution

After the Restoration, in 1660, Charles II caused Ireton's corpse to be exhumed and mutilated in a posthumous execution, along with that of Cromwell and John Bradshaw, in retribution for signing his father's death warrant. The English Restoration, or simply The Restoration began in 1660 when the English monarchy, Scottish monarchy and Irish monarchy were restored Charles II (Charles Stuart 29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685 was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Posthumous execution is the Ritual or Ceremonial execution of an already dead body John Bradshaw ( 1602 - October 31, 1659) was an English judge

In Popular Culture

In the movie Cromwell starring Richard Harris and Alec Guinness, Michael Jayston plays Ireton as a subtle manipulator who pushes Cromwell into taking actions which the latter would otherwise not consider desirable or possible. Cromwell is a film based on the life of Oliver Cromwell who led the Parliamentary forces during the English Civil War and as Lord Protector Richard St John Harris ( October 1 1930 - October 25 2002) was a two-time Academy Award -nominated and Grammy Award Sir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE (2 April 1914 &ndash 5 August 2000 was an English Actor. Michael Jayston (born Michael A James 29 October 1935 in Nottingham) is an English Actor. He and Cromwell are also among the five members whom Charles I attempts to arrest on the eve of the war (when in fact they were not).

Bibliography

• Article by CH Firth in Dict. Nat. Biog. with authorities there quoted
• Wood's Ath. Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 Old Style &ndash 3 September 1658 Old Style) was an English military and political leader best known The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (Ard-Leifteanant na hÉireann ( Plural: Lords Lieutenant) also known as the Judiciar in the early Mediaeval period Charles Fleetwood (died 4 October 1692) English Parliamentary soldier and politician third son of Sir Miles Fleetwood of Sir Charles Harding Firth ( 16 March 1857, Sheffield, England - 19 February 1936, Oxford) was a British The Dictionary of National Biography ( DNB) is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history published from 1885 Anthony Wood or Anthony à Wood ( 17 December 1632 &ndash 28 November 1695) was an English antiquary. Oxon. iii 298
• Cornelius Brown's Lives of Noted Worthies, 181
• Clarke Papers published by the Camden Society
• Gardiner's History of the Civil War and of the Commonwealth
• Article by Barbara Taft in Jason Peacey 'Regicide and Republicanism'
• J L Dean 'Henry Ireton and the Mosaic Law' Cambridge University MLitt Dissertation

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. Not to be confused with the Cambridge Camden Society. The Camden Society, named after the early English historian William Camden, Samuel Rawson Gardiner ( 4 March 1829 - 24 February 1902) was an English Historian. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone