“Ragland Castle, 25th July.
“After 10 of the clock in the morning.”
Lord Herbert (probably immediately after the defeat at Gloucester) raised a regiment of foot and ten troops of cavalry, offering, however, according to Sir William Vavasour, to act only under the command of Prince Rupert or the King: the former writes:—[F]
“Whereas the Right Honourable Henry Marquis of Worcester hath by his care and expenses long saved the town and county of Monmouth from the hands of the enemies, and of late regained the said town from them; and in regard likewise that the towns of Monmouth and Chepstow are belonging to him of inheritance, and the interest he hath in the whole county, my desire is, that the Commander-in-chief of the said county and the Governors of both or each of those towns, or of any other garrison within the said county, should be complying with or observing any desires of his, intimated unto them: either concerning his Majesty’s service, the good of that county, or the particular safety and interest of him and his (whereof I am very tender). As also the High Sheriff, Commissioners of Array, Justices of the Peace, or other officers of the said county, martial or civil (as they tender my pleasure), and will answer the contrary at their perils. And for their so doing, the sight of these, or a copy hereof, attested by that Right Honourable Henry Marquis of Worcester, shall be their and either of their warrant. Given under my hand at Oxford, the 5th day of January, in the twentieth year of his Majesty’s reign.
“Rupert.” [G]
The accounts we have of Lord Herbert’s military operations are extremely meagre; in a patent hereafter to be noticed, the sieges and battles at which he was present are briefly announced; with what courage and successful conduct he took Goodrich Castle, the Forest of Dean, and the city of Hereford; indeed with what remarkable good fortune, with what unhoped-for success, he made himself master of the strongly fortified town of Monmouth.
The achievements, as thus recorded, are sufficiently high sounding, but no contemporary historian seems to have considered them of sufficient importance to put on record. Neither his own letters, nor those of his numerous family and connexions, neither political nor religious partizans nor opponents give us a glimpse of our general’s skill, bravery, and final successes; while the few particulars actually recorded leave but a faint impression as regards facts, and a most unfavourable one as regards results. In short, in his military capacity he bears a most mythical character.
We have his own statement[H] that, through the means supplied by his father and himself, the Marquis of Hertford, after his defeat in the West, was supplied with recruits to attend his Majesty at Oxford, at a cost of £8000. They also raised Sir John Byron’s regiment of horse, at an expense of £5000.
He further expressly alludes to having rendered his Majesty’s army considerable service before Edge-hill, by the men he furnished. And he was likewise at the charge, if not personally engaged in the reducing of Abergavenny and Carlyon to the service of the Crown.
His own troop of Life Guards, consisted of one hundred and twenty noblemen and gentlemen, whose estates amounted to above sixty thousand pounds per annum, most of whom he supplied with arms and horses. This troop he acknowledges to have raised without consulting his father, who reproving him said: “The consequence would be that the love and power he had in the country would be perspicuous, although he should have thanks from the King, yet others, though his Majesty’s well-wishers, through envy, would hate him for it.” His Lordship adds:—“which I confess I have found too true, my services having been more retarded by those who called themselves the King’s friends, than obstructed by his enemies.”
It is certain that Lord Herbert acquired no military celebrity. He was bold, determined, and energetic when acting on the defensive, but he was not remarkable for any adventurous or brilliant aggressive successes. His troops were formidable in number, well paid, and abundantly supplied with every requisite; but in all his reputed sieges, in all his encounters with the foe, we seek in vain for any return of the slain, the wounded, the prisoners taken, the disasters surmounted and inflicted, and the splendid store of spoil acquired. The red hand and unpitying slaughter of war are only shadowed forth to us like shapeless forms, creations of the imagination rather than even faint pictures of reality. His Lordship’s naturally studious habits would seem to have incapacitated him from entering ardently into the wanton destruction of human life and the infliction of severe injuries on multitudes, regarded by him more as deluded neighbours than cruel adversaries. Above forty years having passed over his head in the experience only of plenteous, peaceful times, and scholarly pursuits, he was no longer like the pliant sapling, but partook more of the stability of the sturdy oak. In perfect agreement with his own noble and generous spirit, he no doubt expected, as he desired, an early and complete compromise of the political differences which were then spreading their baleful contagion over the land.