English Civil War earl of Essex would put himself in their way". Accordingly, the army left Shrewsbury on 12 October, gaining two days' start on the enemy, and moved south-east. This had the desired effect, as it forced Essex to move to intercept them. The first pitched battle of the war, fought at Edgehill on 23 October 1642, proved inconclusive, and both the Royalists and Parliamentarians claimed it as a victory. The second field action of the war, the stand-off at Turnham Green, saw Charles forced to withdraw to Oxford. This city would serve as his base for the remainder of the war.
English Civil War either Whig or Marxist history. Parliament was not inherently progressive, with the events of 1640 a precursor for the Glorious Revolution, nor did Puritans necessarily ally themselves with Parliamentarians. Many members of the bourgeoisie fought for the King, while many landed aristocrats supported Parliament. Thus, revisionist historians claim to have discredited some Whig and Marxist interpretations of the English Civil War. From the 1990s, a number of historians discarded and replaced the historical title "English Civil War" with the titles the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and the "British Civil Wars", positing that the civil war in England cannot be