Worcestershire in the English Civil War Worcestershire in the English Civil War Worcestershire was the county where the first battle and last battle of the English Civil War took place. The first battle, the Battle of Powick Bridge, fought on 23 September 1642, was a cavalry skirmish and a victor for the Royalists (Cavaliers). The final battle, the battle of Worcester, fought on 3 September 1651, was decisive and ended the war with a Parliamentary (Roundhead) victory and King Charles IIa wanted fugitive. During the First Civil War the county was under the control of the Royalists although many of their fortified garrisons were besieged by
English Civil War and Hereford and the royalist stronghold of Oxford) sided with Parliament. All the industrial centers, the ports, and the economically advanced regions of southern and eastern England typically were parliamentary strongholds. Lacey Baldwin Smith says, "the words "populous, rich, and rebellious" seemed to go hand in hand". Many of the officers and veteran soldiers of the English Civil War studied and implemented war strategies that had been learned and perfected in other wars across Europe, namely by the Spanish and the Dutch during the Dutch war for independence which began in 1568. The main battle tactic came to be known