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The Battle of Camp Hill (or the Battle of Birmingham) took place in and around Camp Hill, during the First English Civil War, on Easter Monday, 3 April 1643, when a company of Parliamentarians from the Lichfield garrison with the support of some of the local townsmen, in all about 300 men, attempted to stop a detachment of Royalists, of about 1,200 cavalry and dragoons and 600 to 700 foot, under the command of Prince Rupert from passing through the unfortified parliamentary town of Birmingham. The Parliamentarians put up a surprisingly stout resistance, and according to the Royalists shot at them from houses as they drove the small Parliamentary force from the town and back towards Lichfield from whence they came. To suppress the musket fire, the Royalists torched the houses from which the shooting was thought to come. After the battle the Royalists spent the rest of the day in the town during which time they pillaged it. The next morning after the main body of the Royalist force had left town, many more houses were put to the torch. While pillaging and firing an unfortified town in retaliation for resistance was common at that time on Continental Europe it was not usual in England and this handed the Parliamentary side a propaganda weapon which they used to disparage the Royalists. ==Prelude== At the start of the Civil War the area that would become known as the Black Country in North-East Worcestershire and Birmingham was one of the few places in England that could produce the various military stores of which King Charles I was in dire need. As he had failed to secure the arsenals of Portsmouth and Hull, he did not possess any supply of swords, pikes, guns, shot; all these Worcestershire could and did provide. Shot came from Stourbridge and from Dudley cannon. The numerous small forges which then existed on every brook in the north of the County turned out successive supplies of sword blades and pike heads. It is said that among the many causes of anger Charles had against Birmingham was that one of the best sword makers of the day, a man named Robert Porter, who lived and made his blades in Worcestershire, but sold them in Birmingham, refused at any price to supply swords for "that man of blood", or any of his adherents.〔This was a term used by Independents to describe Charles I who they blamed for the bloodshed of the Civil War. It was taken from the Book of Numbers 35:33 〕 As an offset to this sword maker, the Royalists had among their adherents Colonel Dud Dudley, who had invented a means of smelting iron by the use of coal, and who claimed he could turn out "all sorts of bar iron fit for making of muskets, carbines, and iron for great bolts," both more cheaply, more speedily and more excellent than could be done in any other way. His method was now employed on the King's behalf.〔 During the first campaign of the war, while marching from Shrewsbury to engage parliamentarian forces at the Battle of Edgehill on 17 October 1642, Charles passed through Birmingham, the towns folk seized some of his carriages, containing the royal plate and furniture, which they conveyed for security to Warwick Castle, a parliamentary stronghold. During the first year of the war the inhabitants of Birmingham apprehended all messengers and suspected persons; frequently attacked and reduced small parties of the Royalists, whom they sent prisoners to the fortified city of Coventry (the origin of the proverbial expression, ''send him to Coventry''). Historian John Willis-Bund, said that one characteristic of Charles were the small acts of vengeance in which he indulged and so among the orders given to Prince Rupert for the Lichfield expedition was that he should teach Birmingham a lesson for their disloyalty, especially for the insults they had put on the King in October, 1642, before the Battle of Edgehill, when they plundered the Royal Coach. Clarendon adds that Birmingham was then:〔For the Battle of Camp Hill, Willis-Bund cites Clarendon II pp. 180–181, However different publications use different pagination. II refers to Volume II. (This publication ) has the account on pages 233–234 in Book VII. The Clarendon publication in the references section of this article has an account on the pages (23–26 ) noting that it is in Book VII 31–33.〕 Rupert's mission was, therefore, threefold. Punish Birmingham, garrison Lichfield, and clear the country as far as possible. To do this he was given a force of 1200 horse and dragoons and 600 or 700 foot.〔 On Wednesday, 29 March 1643, Rupert left Oxford, reaching Chipping Norton that evening. On Thursday he was at Shipston-on-Stour, on Friday, 31 March (Good Friday) at Stratford-on-Avon, and on Saturday, 1 April (Easter Eve), at Henley-in-Arden. Here he spent Easter Sunday, and on Easter Monday, 3 April, set out for Birmingham to execute the first part of his task.〔 Clarendon says: So Rupert found it when, on 3 April, he marched there from Henley-in-Arden. After passing Shirley the road entered Worcestershire, then proceeding northwards along one of the great main roads leading into Birmingham, now called the Stratford Road, it is joined at Sparkhill, near where "The Mermaid" public house stood, by the road to Warwick.〔(Mermaid Inn Warwick Road )〕 Here the further approach to Birmingham was barred by some of the slight earthworks which had been thrown up. The men of Birmingham possessed a very inadequate force to defend these works. In the town were stationed a small company of foot, under Captain Richard Greaves; the Lichfield garrison had sent in a troop of horse, but their united strength did not much, if at all, exceed 200 men. Rupert did not believe that his large body would be opposed by so inferior a force.〔.〕 He therefore sent his Quarter-Master forward to take up his lodgings, and to 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Camp Hill」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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