Welsh-born English soldier
Major General
Rowland Laugharne
(
c.
1607 – 1675) was a member of the Welsh gentry, and a prominent soldier during the
Wars of the Three Kingdoms
, in which he fought on both sides.
Laugharne began his career as a page to
Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex
, and may have served with him in the
Dutch war with Spain
. Along with
John Poyer
and
Rice Powell
, he led
Parliamentarian
forces in
Pembrokeshire
during the 1642 to 1646
First English Civil War
, from 1643 until the
Royalists
surrendered in June 1646.
A social conservative, he supported moderate Parliamentarians who wanted a negotiated settlement with
Charles I
, and opposed radicals within the
New Model Army
. In the
Second English Civil War
, he fought for the
Royalists
, but was defeated at the
Battle of St Fagans
in May 1648. Condemned to death with Poyer and Powell, he was reprieved after the three drew lots; Poyer lost, and was executed shortly afterwards.
After the
1660 Restoration
, he was elected to the
Cavalier Parliament
in 1661 for
Pembroke
, but played little part in politics. His last years were spent in poverty, and he died in November 1675.
Personal details
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Rowland Laugharne was the eldest son of John Laugharne (1584?1644), from
St Brides
in
Pembrokeshire
, and Janet Owen (1588?after 1635). His father owned
St Brides Castle
, a converted abbey, now a listed building.
His sister Dorothy married
Sir Hugh Owen
(1607?1670),
Member of Parliament
for
Pembroke Boroughs
.
His nephew Captain John Laugharne (1640?1687), son of his younger brother Francis, emigrated to
Virginia
in 1673, and became a prominent member of the colonial establishment.
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
. His grandson John (1666?1715), was
Tory
MP for
Haverfordwest
from 1702 to 1715.
Career
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Part of Laugharne's youth was spent as page to the
Earl of Essex
, and he may have accompanied him on military service in the
Low Countries
. Little is known of his activities during this period, but he was certainly an experienced soldier prior to returning to Wales.
First English Civil War; 1642 to 1646
[
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When war began in August 1642, most of Wales supported
Charles I
, with the exception of Pembrokeshire. 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. Pembrokeshire acquired greater significance after the July 1643 truce between Irish Royalists and the
Confederacy
; if the Royalists won control of ports like
Cardiff
, it would allow them to quickly ship large numbers of troops to England.
Wales; key locations, 1642 to 1648
In early 1644, a Parliamentarian naval squadron sailed into
Milford Haven
, and offered to evacuate Poyer and his garrison, who refused. Instead, Laugharne used them to clear Pembrokeshire of Royalist forces, and was appointed Governor of
Pembroke Castle
.
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.
Gerard established garrisons at
Aberystwyth
,
Kidwelly
,
Carmarthen
,
Cardigan
,
Newcastle Emlyn
,
Laugharne
, and
Roch
, devastated the lands between, then returned to Royalist headquarters in
Oxford
.
Many of the Royalist troops at
Marston Moor
in July came from Wales, and defeat left them with insufficient forces to relieve these strongpoints if attacked. On 29 October, Laugharne and 2,000 troops besieged Laugharne Castle, which was held by 200 men under Lieutenant-Colonel Russell. A two day bombardment left a breach large enough for an assault, and on 2 November the Parliamentarians captured the outer ward of the castle. Russell surrendered the following day, and his men received a pass to Cardigan Castle. Leaving a small garrison behind, Laugharne marched out to meet Royalist troops advancing from Carmarthen, who withdrew before making contact.
Laugharne moved onto Cardigan, but had to wait for his heavy artillery to be transported from Laugharne Castle before beginning operations; it surrendered in late December, and he repulsed a Royalist attempt to retake it in January. In March 1645, Parliament awarded him £3,000, as well as the forfeited lands of John Barlow, in
Slebech
.
The
New Model Army
defeated Charles' main field army at the
Battle of Naseby
in June 1645, reducing the Royalist area of control to the
West Country
and isolated strongholds elsewhere. 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. When Charles surrendered in June 1646, Laugharne was commander-in-chief for Pembrokeshire, Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, and
Glamorgan
.
Second English Civil War; 1648
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Arguments over the settlement with Charles led to conflict between Parliamentarian moderates, mostly
Presbyterians
like Laugharne, and
religious Independents
, many of whom were also members of the New Model. 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
. They were opposed by more radical MPs, supported by the
Army Council
, which included Sir
Thomas Fairfax
and
Oliver Cromwell
.
In April 1647, Parliament confirmed Laugharne as commander in South Wales, but only by a margin of three votes, and appointed a New Model officer as his deputy. 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. In July, another experienced New Model officer, Colonel
Thomas Horton
, was sent to replace Laugharne, and secure these positions.
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. Parliament ordered it to Ireland, stating only those who agreed would be paid; when their
representatives
demanded full payment for all in advance, it was disbanded.
The Army Council responded by seizing control of London, which meant Laugharne's troops now faced disbandment without pay. In March 1648, he visited London to meet with sympathetic MPs; he was arrested returning to Wales, but soon escaped.
Poyer and Rice Powell refused to hand over
Pembroke Castle
to their replacements, and were joined there by Laugharne.
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. They assembled an army of around 8,000, but most were untrained and poorly armed, and were easily defeated by Horton's experienced troops at
St Fagans
in May. Laugharne withdrew to Pembroke Castle, which was besieged by a force under Cromwell, and surrendered in July 1648.
Post 1648
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The war had become increasingly bitter, and participants in the Second Civil War were often harshly treated; after St Fagans, Horton executed four of Laugharne's officers for treason. Laugharne, Poyer and Powell were sentenced to death, but Fairfax decreed only one should die, to be decided by lots drawn by a child. Poyer drew the blank, and was executed by firing squad in April 1649; his two colleagues were sent into exile.
Although Laugharne later claimed to have spent most of the 1650s in prison, he seemed to have been treated with relative leniency by the Protectorate, although his Slebech estates were confiscated in October 1649, and given to Colonel Horton and others.
After the
1660 Restoration
, he was elected to the
Cavalier Parliament
in 1661 for
Pembroke
, a constituency controlled by his cousin, Sir John Owen.
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’.
References
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Sources
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]
- Fenton, Richard (1811).
A historical tour through Pembrokeshire
. Longman Hurst.
- Hardy, Stella Pickett (1911).
Colonial Families Of The Southern States Of America: A History And Genealogy Of Colonial Families Who Settled In The Colonies Prior To The Revolution
. Clearview.
- Hayton, DW (2002).
LAUGHARNE, John (c.1666-1715), of St. Brides, Pemb. and Golden Square, London in The History of Parliament 1690-1715
. Secker & Warburg.
- Hutton, Ronald (2003).
The Royalist War Effort 1642-1646
. Routledge.
ISBN
9780415305402
.
- Lloyd, Scott (2013).
The Sieges of Laugharne Castle Laugharne Carmarthenshire
(PDF)
. Gildas Research
. Retrieved
23 June
2020
.
- Naylor, Leonard; Jagger, Geoffrey (1983).
LAUGHARNE, Rowland (c.1607-75), of St. Brides, Pembrokeshire in The History of Parliament 1660-1690
. Secker & Warburg.
- Rees, John (2016).
The Leveller Revolution
. Verso.
ISBN
978-1784783907
.
- Roberts, Stephen (2004). "Laugharne, Rowland".
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
doi
:
10.1093/ref:odnb/16122
.
(Subscription or
UK public library membership
required.)
- Royle, Trevor (2004).
Civil War: The Wars of the Three Kingdoms 1638?1660
. Abacus.
ISBN
978-0-349-11564-1
.
- "St Brides Castle"
(PDF)
.
RCAHM
. Retrieved
21 May
2020
.
Bibliography
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]
- Philips, J. R., Memoirs of the Civil War in Wales and the Marches 1642?49 (London, 1874).
- Leach, A. L., History of the Civil War (1642?49) in Pembrokshire and on its Borders (London, 1937).
- Rees, J. F., Studies in Welsh History ? collected papers, lectures and reviews (Cardiff, 1947).