Oliver Cromwell with Sir Thomas Fairfax in command and Cromwell as Lieutenant-General of cavalry and second-in-command. At the critical Battle of Naseby in June 1645, the New Model Army smashed the King's major army. Cromwell led his wing with great success at Naseby, again routing the Royalist cavalry. At the Battle of Langport on 10 July, Cromwell participated in the defeat of the last sizeable Royalist field army. Naseby and Langport effectively ended the King's hopes of victory, and the subsequent Parliamentarian campaigns involved taking the remaining fortified Royalist positions in the west of England. In October 1645, Cromwell besieged and took
Battle of Burton Bridge (1643) honour of Knighthood". In honour of the battle the Burton Bridge Brewery markets an ale known as "Battle Brew". A local legend states that Oliver Cromwell was present in the area during the battle and tied his horse to a nail at Tatenhill's St Michael's and All Angels Church, just from the bridge. The medieval Burton bridge was the site of an earlier battle in 1322 where Edward II defeated the rebellious Earl of Lancaster. Battle of Burton Bridge (1643) The Battle of Burton Bridge was fought between Royalist and Parliamentarian forces at Burton upon Trent on 4 July 1643