History of the Puritans under King Charles I that Independents were encouraged to join the New Model Army. Cromwell had thus created a situation where the Presbyterians dominated the Long Parliament, but the Independents dominated the New Model Army. At the Battle of Naseby on 16 June 1645, the New Model Army achieved a decisive victory over royalist forces. A number of subsequent battles were needed to finally defeat the royalist forces. In May 1646, Charles surrendered himself over to Scottish forces at Southwell, Nottinghamshire. So, to summarize the situation as we move into 1647: On the one hand, you have the leaders of the Long Parliament and
Battle of Inverkeithing under David Leslie. After his victory at the Battle of Dunbar, Oliver Cromwell went on to occupy large parts of southern Scotland. David Leslie, commanding the royalist forces, in recovering from the disaster at Dunbar, created a series of defensive redoubts in the centre of the country, effectively preventing the New Model Army from making any further progress in the campaign. Unable to push past Leslie, firmly entrenched at Stirling, Cromwell was quick to realise that Fife, on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth, was now the key of the whole campaign. Once across the Forth the English