William Vaughan (royalist) their property. When the king in May 1645 marched from Oxford towards Chester, he was met on the 17th at Newport, Shropshire (or Evesham), by Vaughan. He was defeated by Oliver Cromwell on 27 April at Bampton in Oxfordshire. During the next four weeks he accompanied the king), and at the battle of Naseby he took part in the charge that pierced through the enemy's force. After that defeat he fell back on Shropshire, where on 4 and 5 July he won two victories, resulting in the relief of High Ercall. Vaughan was shortly after directed by Prince Maurice to
Battle of Edgehill to Northampton, where he mustered almost 20,000 men. Learning of the King's move westwards, Essex then marched north-westwards towards Worcester. On 23 September, in the first clash between the main Royalist and Parliamentarian armies, Royalist cavalry under Prince Rupert of the Rhine routed the cavalry of Essex's vanguard at the Battle of Powick Bridge. Nevertheless, lacking infantry, the Royalists abandoned Worcester. By early October, the King's army was almost complete at Shrewsbury. He held a council of war, at which two courses of action were considered. The first was to attack Essex's army at Worcester, which had the drawback that